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Department of Education 

FOR THE 

United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 



MONOGRAPHS ON EDUCATION 



UNITED STATES 

EDITED by 
NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 

Professor of Philosophy and Education in Columbia University, New York 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



ELMER ELLSWORTH BROWN 

Professor of Education in the University of California 



This Monograph is contributed to the United States Educat:onal Exhibit by the 
State of New York 



Department of Education 

FOR THE 

United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 

Director 
HOWARD J. ROGERS, Albany, N. Y. 



MONOGRAPHS 

ON 

EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES 

edited by 
NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 

Proftssor of Philosophy and Education in Columbia Univrsity, Ntw York 



1 EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION — 

Andrew Sloan Draper, President of the University of Illinois, Cham- 
paign, Illinois 

2 KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION — Susan E. Blow, Cazenovia, New 

York 

3 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION — William T. Harris, United States 

Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C. 

4 SECONDARY EDUCATION — Elmer Ellsworth Brown, Professor 

of Education in the University of California, Berkeley, California 

5 THE AMERICAN COLLEGE — Andrew Fleming West, Professor of 

Latin in Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 

6 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY— Edward Delavan Perry, Jay 

Professor of Greek in Columbia University, New York 

7 EDUCATION OF WOMEN — M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn 

Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 

8 TRAINING OF TEACHERS — B. A. Hinsdale, Professor of the Science 

and Art of Teaching in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 
Michigan 

9 SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE AND HYGIENE — Gilbert B. Morrison, 

Principal of the Manual Training High School, Kansas City, Missouri 

10 PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION— James Russell Parsons, Director of 

the College and High School Departments, University of the State of 
New York, Albany, New York 

11 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION — 

T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Technological Institute, Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts 

12 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION — Charles W. Dabney, President 

of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 

13 COMMERCIAL EDUCATION — Edmund J. James, Professor of Public 

Administration in the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 

14 ART AND INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION — Isaac Edwards Clarke, 

Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 

15 EDUCATION OF DEFECTIVES— Edward Ellis Allen, Principal of 

the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, Over- 
brook, Pennsylvania 

16 SUMMER SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION — Herbert B. 

Adams, Professor of American and Institutional History in the Johns 
Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 

17 SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS —James McKeen 

Cattell, Professor of Psychology in Columbia University, New York 

18 EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO — Booker T. Washington, Principal 

of the Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama 

19 EDUCATION OF THE INDIAN — William N. Hailmann, Superin- 

tendent of Schoi 7 ,s, Dayton, Ohio 



Department of Education 

FOR THE 

United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 
. 



MONOGRAPHS ON EDUCATION 



UNITED STATES 

I 

EDITED BY 

NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 

Professor of Philosophy and Education in Columbia University, New York 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



ELMER ELLSWORTH BROWN 

Professor of Education in the University of California 



This Monograph is contributed to the United States Educational Exhibit by thb 
State of New York 



lota: 
•ft ** 



Copyright by 
J. E. LYON COMPANY 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



One could not expect to find distinctively American insti- 
tutions among the colonists of the seventeenth century. 
There was as yet no distinctively American character. Two 
opposing influences were at work shaping the colonial life : 
the first was the spirit of protest against European institu- 
tions, which many of the colonists had brought with them 
from the Old World ; the second was the ever-present 
instinct of imitation. Real American schools might be 
expected to develop with the development of real American 
nationality. In the beginning, there could be only such 
schools as might arise under the mingled influence of a 
desire to be like the mother-country and a desire to be 
different. 

We find, as a matter of fact, the history of American sec- 
ondary education presenting three pretty well-defined types 
and stages of development. There is, first, the colonial 
period, with its Latin grammar schools ; secondly, the period 
extending from the revolutionary war to the middle of the 
nineteenth century, during which the attempt was made to 
solve the problem of American secondary education by 
means of the so-called academy ; and, thirdly, the succeeding 
period down to the present time, chiefly characterized by the 
upgrowth of public high schools. 

The specific influences which most vitally influenced the 
early development of secondary education in America were, 
on the one hand, the example of the " grammar schools " of 
old England ; and, on the other hand, the rising spirit of 
democracy, in large measure Calvinistic as to its modes 
of thought, and in touch with movements in the Calvin- 
istic portions of Europe. 



SECONDARY EDUCATION [144 



THE BEGINNINGS 

Early in the history of the colony of Virginia, funds were 
raised and lands set apart for the endowment of a Latin 
grammar school. But these promising beginnings were 
swept away by the Indian massacre of 1622, and the school 
seems never to have been opened. The town of Boston, in 
the Massachusetts Bay colony, set up a Latin school in 1635, 
which has had a continuous existence down to the present 
time. This school was established by vote of the citizens in 
a town meeting. It was supported in part by private dona- 
tions, and in part by the rent of certain islands in the harbor, 
designated by the town for that purpose. A town rate seems 
also to have been levied when necessary to make up a salary 
of ^"50 a year for the master. 

Other Massachusetts towns soon followed the example of 
Boston. The money for the support of these schools was 
obtained in a variety of ways. School fees were commonly 
but not universally collected. A town rate, which was 
depended upon at first only to supplement other sources of 
revenue, gradually came to be the main reliance ; and by the 
middle of the eighteenth century the most of the grammar 
schools of Massachusetts charged no fee for tuition. 

Latin schools were early established in the colonies 
included in the territory of the present state of Connecti- 
cut : one at New Haven in 1641, and one at Hartford not 
later than 1642. A notable bequest left by Edward Hop- 
kins, sometime governor of Connecticut colony, whose later 
years were passed in England, became available soon after 
the middle of the seventeenth century. The greater part of 
it was devoted to the maintenance of Latin grammar schools 
in Hartford and New Haven, and also in the towns of Had- 
ley and Cambridge in Massachusetts. 

The Dutch at New Amsterdam — now New York — 
opened a Latin school in 1659. This school was continued 
for some years after the colony passed under English rule. 
Secondary schools were established in the colony of Penn- 



145] SECONDARY EDUCATION 5, 

sylvania in the latter part of the seventeenth century. One 
of these, the William Penn Charter School, at Philadelphia, 
has continued down to the present day. King William's 
school, at Annapolis, was erected by the legislature of Mary- 
land in 1696. Similar schools were from time to time estab- 
lished in different sections of the same colony. The 
eighteenth century saw schools of like character opened, 
partly by legislative enactment, partly by private initiative, 
in these and in the remaining colonies. Some of the num- 
ber, like the University Grammar School in Rhode Island 
and the Free School at New York, were either the fore- 
runners or the accompaniments of colonial colleges. 

Not only were these several schools opened during the 
colonial period : important beginnings were made also in 
the organization of colonial systems of secondary educa- 
tion. The Puritan colony of Massachusetts took the lead 
in this movement. In 1647 tne colonial legislature decreed 
that an elementary school should be maintained in every 
town having a population of fifty families ; and that in 
every town having one hundred families there should be 
a grammar school, in which the students might be fitted 
for admission to the university. 

This liberal provision was soon copied by the neigh- 
boring colonies of Connecticut and New Hampshire. In 
Connecticut the provision was afterwards changed to a 
requirement of a grammar school in each county town. 
These New England colonies maintained and enforced 
such provisions regarding grammar schools, with varying 
degrees of strictness, to be sure, down to and even after 
the revolutionary war. Maryland established by law a 
system of county grammar schools, thus keeping pace 
with the more northern colony of Connecticut. 

The interest in secondary education declined and many 
schools fell into decay as the revolutionary period 
approached. When the colonies were transformed into 
states, after the declaration of independence, the four sys- 
tems of schools mentioned above were continued with little 



6 SECONDARY EDUCATION [146 

change. No other of the thirteen states had anything that 
could be called a system of public instruction. 

COLONIAL SCHOOLS 

The chief emphasis in these schools was laid on the 
preparation of future collegians to pass the college entrance 
examination. The most of the schools were in this sense 
" preparatory " or " fitting " schools. The requirements for 
admission to college determined their course of study. In 
the middle of the seventeenth century, the requirements of 
Harvard college, which fixed the scholastic standard for 
New England, are stated as follows : " When scholars had 
so far profited at the grammar schools that they could read 
any classical author into English, and readily make and 
speak true Latin, and write it in verse as well as prose ; and 
perfectly decline the paradigms of nouns and verbs in the 
Greek tongue, they were judged capable of admission in 
Harvard college." A century later, the requirements of 
Princeton college, which profoundly influenced the second- 
ary schools of the middle states, were described in these 
words : " Candidates for admission into the lowest or fresh- 
man class must be capable of composing grammatical Latin, 
translating Virgil, Cicero's Orations, and the four Evangelists 
in Greek ; and by a late order * * * must understand 
the principal rules of vulgar arithmetic." 

The colonial grammar schools taught accordingly Latin, 
and a little Greek. They gave instruction in religion ; but 
little else was added to the classical languages. 

Social grades were pretty sharply distinguished in the 
colonies. The grammar schools and colleges were intended 
especially for the directive and professional classes. They 
had little if any connection with such elementary schools as 
there were. In Massachusetts, towns which maintained 
grammar schools were not required to maintain reading 
schools. Sometimes pupils were taught to read in grammar 
schools. But the grammar school teachers objected to this 
burden ; and the mixing of the two grades of instruction in 



147] SECONDARY EDUCATION 7 

one school was recognized as an evil. There seems to have 
been no middle grade of school, answering to the needs of a 
middle class in society. And for girls there was no provision 
whatever beyond occasional instruction in the merest rudi- 
ments of learning. 

In the colleges, the ecclesiastical spirit and purpose was 
paramount. The students were for the most part preparing 
for the clerical vocation in some one of the Protestant 
denominations. But naturally only a part of the students in 
the grammar schools showed the disposition and the aptitude 
to pursue classical studies and enter the profession to which 
they led. The grammar schools exercised a kind of selective 
function, discovering latent capacity for the higher studies 
and starting talented youth on the way to college. Those 
who showed capacity of a lower grade or of a different sort 
seem to have received but little attention or encouragement 
in the schools of that day. 

A TIME OF TRANSITION 

As we approach the revolutionary period, we find new 
social conditions giving rise to a new order of schools. In 
the earlier days there had been, in most of the colonies, a 
close connection between ecclesiastical and political func- 
tions. With the growth of sectarian differences, there 
appeared a decided tendency toward the separation of gov- 
ernmental from ecclesiastical affairs. The grammar schools 
and colleges had been established for the public good as 
represented in both church and commonwealth. They had 
been founded and maintained by a remarkable combination 
of governmental, ecclesiastical, and private agency. Some 
of the colonies must be reckoned among the foremost of 
modern societies to exemplify direct governmental participa- 
tion in educational affairs. But as governmental and eccle- 
siastical interests drew apart, the position of educational 
institutions was disturbed. This change tended to lessen 
the prestige of colonial systems of education among the 
more zealous adherents of the several religious denomina- 



8 SECONDARY EDUCATION [148 

tions. At the same time, a growing distrust of the colleges 
appeared among those who were most in accord with the 
secularizing tendency of the time. These influences com- 
bined with many others to weaken the old grammar schools. 
In their stead there grew up a new type of secondary school, 
commonly known as the academy. For two or three genera- 
tions following the revolutionary period this type was in 
the ascendancy. The effort to solve the problem of sec- 
ondary education by this means ultimately failed. But the 
academy nevertheless occupies a place of great significance 
in the history of our educational institutions. 

THE ACADEMIES 

Both the name and the character of the new institu- 
tion were suggested by English precedents. In England, 
dissenters from the established religion were excluded from 
both grammar schools and universities. In the latter part of 
the seventeenth century, following a suggestion of Milton, 
the non-conformist bodies proceeded to establish so-called 
academies. These schools were in the main of second- 
ary grade. Yet they undertook to prepare candidates for 
the clerical office in non-conformist congregations ; and 
they offered a wide range of literary and scientific studies, 
in free imitation of the universities. They even afforded 
instruction in some studies, chiefly of a technical and prac- 
tical character, not commonly taught in the universities. 

The American colonists were, many of them, in close rela- 
tions with various bodies of English dissenters ; and the 
fame of the English academies would seem to have influ- 
enced their thought in the matter of public education. At 
one time, the strong theological bent of their English proto- 
types reappeared in the new American schools ; at another 
time, the resemblance was more obvious in the range and 
character of the studies offered. But the American acade- 
mies soon came to have a well-defined character of their 
own, apart from any conscious imitation of English models. 

As early as the year 1726, a school for classical and theo- 



149] SECONDARY EDUCATION 9 

logical studies was established by the pastor of a Presby- 
terian congregation at Neshaminy, in Pennsylvania. It was 
described by a visitor as an " academy " ; but was more com- 
monly known as the " Log College," in allusion to the fact 
that it was conducted in a small building made of logs. 
This school in the wilderness was the center of deep and 
widespread interest in classical studies as well as in the 
religious life. It sent out large numbers of zealous pastors 
and teachers, who established "log colleges" all over the 
highlands of the middle and southern colonies. 

Through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, a school was 
established at Philadelphia, legally incorporated as an acad- 
emy in 1753, which was probably the first institution in 
America to be formally designated by that title. It was 
under the control of a self-perpetuating board of trustees. 
A fund was raised by private subscription for its establish- 
ment and maintenance. This was supplemented by a grant 
from the city treasury and by tuition fees. But fees were 
remitted in the case of those who were unable to pay. This 
academy was organized in three departments or schools ; 
viz., the Latin, the English, and the mathematical. The 
theological element was not prominent here. Much stress 
was laid on the teaching of the English language and litera- 
ture, and the mathematical sciences. The school ultimately 
developed into the University of Pennsylvania. 

Within two or three decades from the founding of this 
school at Philadelphia, a number of schools somewhat simi- 
lar in character, and some of them bearing the name 
academy, were established in the middle and southern colo- 
nies. The new movement received fresh incentive and 
definiteness of direction from the establishment of the two 
Phillips academies, one at Andover in Massachusetts and 
the other at Exeter in New Hampshire, incorporated, the 
former in 1780 and the latter in 1781. These schools, well 
endowed, and conducted under self-perpetuating boards of 
trustees, were the pioneers of a long line of similar estab- 
lishments in New England. Their influence extended to 



IO SECONDARY EDUCATION [150 

remote states, especially in the growing west ; and they rank 
to-day among the strongest and most influential of our sec- 
ondary schools. 

STATE SYSTEMS 

Soon after the close of the revolutionary war, new state 
systems of education began to be established, in which 
special provision was made for secondary schools. The 
earliest and most remarkable of these was the University of 
the State of New York, erected in 1784 and remodeled in 
1787. This institution is a notable example of the strong 
and increasing influence which French thought then exer- 
cised in American affairs. The conception of a university 
put forth by Diderot and others of the great French writers 
of the latter half of the eighteenth century, was first realized 
in the state of New York. The New York university 
embraced the whole provision for secondary and higher 
education within the state, with the exception of schools of 
a purely private character. It seems to have been intended 
at the outset to embrace elementary schools as well, but 
these were organized later under a separate administrative 
system. The university was placed under the control of a 
board of regents, consisting of the governor and the lieuten- 
ant-governor of the state, ex officio, together with nineteen 
others, elected by the state legislature. At first this board 
of regents had been identical with the board of trustees of 
Columbia college. But this arrangement was unsatisfactory 
for many reasons : because of the ecclesiastical character of 
the college, for one thing ; and also because of the growing 
belief that the interests of the college were distinct from, 
if not opposed to, those of the new academies. The reor- 
ganization of 1787 accordingly made the board of regents 
a body distinct from the trustees of any institution included 
in the university. The trustees were to exercise control 
over their several institutions. But this control was made 
subject to the general and not at all rigorous supervision 
of the regents. 



I5l] SECONDARY EDUCATION II 

In 1 81 3 the legislature of the state established a perma- 
nent fund known as the literature fund, the income of 
which was to be applied wholly to the support of secondary 
schools. The distribution of this fund was made subject to 
the control of the regents of the university. 

This university set up by the state of New York appealed 
to the imagination of men by its comprehensiveness and 
novelty. It exercised great influence on later systems ; but 
only one state and one territory seem to have modeled their 
scheme of public instruction after the New York pattern. 
An act of the legislature of Georgia, passed in 1785, pro- 
vided that " All public schools instituted, or to be supported 
by funds or public moneys in this state, shall be considered 
as parts or members of the university." But the university 
of Georgia never realized the large and liberal plan pro- 
posed for it. 

In the territory of Michigan, an act was passed in 181 7 
instituting a university of imposing character. The presi- 
dent and professors of this institution were empowered " to 
establish colleges, academies, schools, libraries, museums, 
athenaeums, botanical gardens, laboratories and other useful 
literary and scientific institutions * * * throughout the 
various counties, cities, towns, townships, and other geo- 
graphical divisions of Michigan." As may be supposed, 
this establishment existed mainly on paper. Yet it should 
be noted that before the act was repealed, in 1821, there had 
been opened under its provisions a college, a classical school, 
and several primary schools. 

But although the comprehensive type of university 
organization was not widely adopted, there was a general 
desire in the early part of the nineteenth century to establish 
complete and well-rounded systems of public instruction. 
Primary education was still all too largely neglected. In 
the state systems which were from time to time devised, 
emphasis was laid at one time upon secondary schools, at 
another upon institutions of higher learning. Some of the 
best thought of our political leaders was devoted to the 



12 SECONDARY EDUCATION [152 

problem of devising systems which should meet the needs 
of our rapidly growing states in all of the several grades of 
instruction. 

The legislature of Tennessee declared, in 1817, that, 
" Institutions of learning, both academies and colleges, 
should ever be under the fostering care of this legislature, 
and in their connection with each other form a complete 
system of education." 

Even more significant is the provision of the constitution 
of Indiana, adopted in 1816, that, " It shall be the duty of 
the general assembly, as soon as circumstances will permit, 
to provide by law for a general system of education, ascend- 
ing in regular gradation from township schools to a state 
university wherein tuition shall be gratis and equally open 
to all." 

For the most part, however, actual state agency in sec- 
ondary education was as yet limited to the subsidising of 
privately managed academies. In Massachusetts, the pro- 
vision for grammar schools under town control was continued 
after the colony became a state. But the law was so changed 
that only the larger towns were left subject to this require- 
ment. At the same time academies established by private 
initiative were endowed by the legislature with grants of 
public lands. The state assumed no control whatever over 
the academies which it thus subsidised. 

In Kentucky, the state legislature granted six thousand 
acres of public lands to an academy in each county. In 
Pennsylvania, colleges and academies received financial aid 
from the state for many years, culminating in 1838 in a 
general state system of educational subsidies. Five years 
later, such aid was discontinued. In others of the states, 
the granting of state subsidies, in money or in lands, to sec- 
ondary and higher schools, was customary for many years. 
For the most part, there is but little of system or consistency 
observable in the distribution of such aid ; and the state- 
aided institutions were not subjected to any sort of state 
control. 



153] SECONDARY EDUCATION 1 3 

CHARACTER OF THE ACADEMIES 

The type of secondary school which grew up under these 
conditions demands closer consideration. The old acade- 
mies were generally endowed institutions, organized under 
the control of self-perpetuating boards of trustees or of 
religious bodies. They were established for the most part 
to serve the need of a wide constituency and not merely of 
a single community. They were often located in small 
country places. Many of them made provision for boarders 
as well as for day pupils. 

They were not intended in any especial or exclusive sense 
for the training of future members of the learned pro- 
fessions. Many of them, to be sure, as time went on, drew 
near to the colleges and became known primarily as prepara- 
tory schools. In the western states, colleges were often 
organized with preparatory schools attached to them, and 
these preparatory schools were commonly called " acade- 
mies." But such was not the earlier purpose of the acade- 
mies. They were largely schools for the middle classes of 
society, and sought to give a good middle grade of instruc- 
tion, with only occasional or subordinate reference to college 
preparation. They answered to a growing desire after 
learning for its own sake, or for the increased efficiency it 
would give in other than professional pursuits. 

The training which they offered was regarded as more 
" practical " than that of the colleges. Their course of 
instruction presented a wider range of studies than that of 
the grammar schools ; not infrequently wider than that of the 
colleges themselves. They laid new stress on the study of 
the English language, together with its grammar, rhetoric, 
and the art of public speaking. They gave instruction in 
various branches of mathematics, often including surveying 
and navigation. They made important beginnings in the 
pursuit of the natural sciences. Natural philosophy (phys- 
ics) was a favorite subject, of which astronomy constituted 
an important division. Geography was also taught ; and his- 



H 



SECONDARY EDUCATION [154 



tory, especially the history of Greece and Rome, and of the 
United States. French was sometimes taught ; more rarely 
German. In the better academies, the Latin and Greek 
languages still constituted the substantial core of the instruc- 
tion offered. 

In the earlier days, the course of study in these schools 
was not well denned. In some subjects, especially English, 
Latin, and mathematics, a good degree of continuity of 
work was apparently maintained. In others, classes were 
formed at irregular periods. Many young men who were 
obliged to labor on the farms during the rest of the year, 
would attend an academy during the winter term, and the 
order of instruction would to some extent be arranged with 
reference to their needs. There was necessarily great 
diversity among the different institutions, those in the same 
state or even in the same county presenting great differences. 
When finally definite courses of study were laid out, they 
varied in length from three to four or five •years. 

Parallel courses were offered. That including classical 
studies and covering the required preparation for admission 
to some college was commonly regarded as the standard 
course of the school. Along with this might be found an 
English course. At a later date, a scientific course was 
often provided in place of or in addition to the English 
course. 

The religious character of these schools should be noted. 
Many of them were established by religious bodies. It 
was during the period which we have under consideration 
th-at Catholic secondary schools began to appear in consid- 
erable numbers. These were for the most part established by 
the several teaching orders. The Society of Jesus founded 
institutions of secondary and higher education in the United 
States after the revolutionary war. The Brothers of the 
Christian Schools opened their first school in America at 
Montreal in 1838; and soon after set up establishments 
within the United States, at Baltimore and New York. 
These were doubtless of elementary grade at the start ; but 



155] SECONDARY EDUCATION 1 5 

the brethren extended their courses after a time to include 
secondary studies. Many conventual schools for girls were 
also established, and it became no uncommon thing for them 
to draw a large clientage from other than Catholic families. 

The academies established by Protestant bodies were in 
some instances under direct ecclesiastical control ; but more 
frequently their formal connection with ecclesiastical societies 
terminated with their legal incorporation. They were, how- 
ever, generally characterized by great moral earnestness, on 
the part of both teachers and pupils ; and many of them 
were remarkable for the intensity of religious life which 
they fostered. The religious instruction which they carried 
on concerned itself for the most part with the broad under- 
lying principles of Christianity, avoiding in large measure 
the discussion of doctrines upon which the sects of Chris- 
tendom are divided. It consisted mainly of lessons from the 
King James version of the Bible — both the Old and the 
New Testament. This was often supplemented by instruc- 
tion in moral philosophy. Thus, the non-Catholic academies, 
even such as had arisen from the initiative of religious socie- 
ties, tended toward the non-sectarian character which has 
been more fully exemplified in the public schools of later 
times. 

The grammar schools had been exclusively for boys. 
Such was the case with many of the academies. Others of 
these schools were co-educational. With the increasing 
interest in education for women, there grew up a large num- 
ber of academies for girls, which were all too often weighed 
down with the title of " female seminary." These two types 
of secondary education for girls prepared the way for two 
types of institution of higher education, both of which 
appeared in the fourth decade of the nineteenth century, 
viz., the co-educational college and the college for women 
exclusively. 

The academies aroused and ministered to a strong and 
widespread desire for education. They greatly broadened 
the intellectual horizon of families and communities. They 



l6 SECONDARY EDUCATION [i 36 

reinforced the protest which was arising against the too 
narrow curriculum of the American colleges. In many other 
ways they rendered a timely and most efficient service in the 
betterment of American thought and life. 

One specific service must receive separate mention. In 
the absence of special schools for the training of teachers, 
the better elementary schools were for a long time in the 
hands of teachers who had studied in the academies. In 
New York and Pennsylvania, this service of the academies 
received recognition at the hands of the state legislature. 
Special classes were organized in these schools for instruc- 
tion in the art of teaching. A seminary for teachers was 
opened in connection with the Phillips academy at Andover. 
When state normal schools began to be established, in Mas- 
sachusetts in the year 1839, suggestions for their organiza- 
tion and management were drawn from this seminary and 
from the current practice of the academies. 

THE HIGH SCHOOL MOVEMENT 

In the early part of the nineteenth century, there appeared 
in the several American states a strong demand for schools 
under the exclusive control of the state government. Various 
influences contributed to this sentiment. The Calvinistic 
view of the civil power had apparently prepared the way 
for state agency in education. The spirit which drove the 
Jesuits from France and during the French revolution made 
education a part of the program of democracy, roused an 
answering spirit in America. The steadily advancing sepa- 
ration between church and state kept alive the question as to 
the relation of the schools to both. So far as the higher 
education was concerned, it seemed to be the well-estab- 
lished theory that the state should grant charters to col- 
leges, authorizing them to manage their own affairs under 
close corporations, with incidental aid from the state in the 
shape of gifts of land or money. And this had come to be 
the prevalent method of meeting the demand for secondary 
education. But the notion of higher institutions chiefly 



15/] SECONDARY EDUCATION 1 7 

supported and directly controlled by the state now began 
to get abroad. 

The University of Virginia, under the guidance of Thomas 
Jefferson, led the way to the realization of this idea. In New 
Hampshire, the legislature undertook to transform Dartmouth 
college into Dartmouth university, without the consent of the 
college corporation. The attempt was frustrated by a decis- 
ion of the United States supreme court. This decision was 
of the utmost importance in the history of American educa- 
tion as well as of American jurisprudence. It declared, in 
effect, that an institution founded and administered as was 
Dartmouth college was a private corporation ; that the char- 
ter granted it by the state was in the nature of a con- 
tract, and accordingly could not, under the constitution of 
the United States, be altered by the legislature without the 
consent of the board of trustees. This decision established 
the inviolability of chartered rights. It thus gave security 
and stability to all incorporated institutions ; it drew also a 
sharp distinction between " public " and " private " institu- 
tions, and placed the most of the then existing higher and 
secondary schools in the latter class. These schools served 
a public purpose and were open to public resort. They were 
in all but the legal sense public schools. But the clear defi- 
nition of their legal status served to strengthen the rising 
demand for schools which should be public in every sense 
of the word. The growth of cities and many other causes 
combined to reinforce this demand. 

The first step in the establishment of public secondary 
schools to supplement or fill the place of the academies 
was taken by the larger towns and municipalities, under 
the lead of Boston. The new institutions were a direct out- 
growth of the system of elementary schools. The course 
of study in these schools was becoming better defined and 
was slowly extending. In Boston, it was extended down- 
ward in the year 1818 to include primary schools in which 
the first steps in reading were taken. The same system was 
extended upward in 1821 by the establishment of an " Eng- 



1 8 SECONDARY EDUCATION [158 

lish classical school," which soon took the name of " English 
high school." The name seems to have been adopted in 
imitation of the high school of Edinburgh. There had been 
for many years close intellectual sympathy between the Mas- 
sachusetts town and the Scotch capital. The new Boston 
school differed, however, in important particulars from its 
namesake in Edinburgh. The ancient languages were not 
included in its curriculum. It did not employ the moni- 
torial method of instruction, then in vogue in Edinburgh. 
But the two schools were alike in this : that each was sup- 
ported and controlled by the municipality and was an object 
of municipal interest and pride. 

The English high school was established to meet the needs 
of the middle, and especially the commercial, classes. Its 
course of study was three years in length, embracing the 
English language and literature, mathematics, navigation 
and surveying, geography, natural philosophy (including 
astronomy), history, logic, moral and political philosophy. 
Latin and modern languages 'were added later, and the 
course extended to four years. Students were received into 
the high school from the elementary schools of the city, but 
were not at the first prepared in the high school for admis- 
sion to college. That was still the function of the Latin 
school. But with the addition of foreign languages to its 
course of study, the English high school has fitted its stu- 
dents for admission to certain higher institutions, and particu- 
larly to the Institute of Technology. 

Boston was still a town when she set up her English 
classical school, but became a city in the following year. 
The new school was proposed by the school committee, and 
was approved by the people, assembled in town meeting. 
Other Massachusetts towns soon followed the lead of Boston 
in this matter. Philadelphia, in 1838, established the Cen- 
tral high school, under special authorization from the Penn- 
sylvania legislature. Baltimore followed, with the establish- 
ment of a " city college." Providence opened a public high 
school in 1843. Hartford, in 1847, transformed her old 



159] SECONDARY EDUCATION 1 9 

grammar school into a school of the newer type. New York 
opened a "free academy" in 1848, the name of which was 
afterwards changed to " the College of the City of New York." 
This school was established in accordance with a special act 
of the state legislature, ratified by vote of the people of the 
city. Other high schools sprang up in various parts of the 
country before the year 1850 — in Connecticut, in New York, 
in Ohio. Since that time the movement has steadily con- 
tinued, until now these schools are found in every state in 
the union, in cities, in smaller towns, and even occasion- 
ally in thickly populated country districts. 

The zeal of communities in the establishment of these 
schools not infrequently outran the express provision of state 
school laws. But the movement encountered hostility from 
various sources, notably from those who regarded the 
academy as the final or best solution of the problem of pub- 
lic secondary education, and from those who were opposed 
on principle to the recognition of secondary education as a 
proper field for governmental agency. The legal questions 
involved in this latter contention were brought to a settle- 
ment in the supreme court of Michigan, in what is com- 
monly known as the " Kalamazoo case." The decision of 
the court in this case was prepared by one of the most emi- 
nent of American jurists. It was summed up in the words, 
" Neither in our state policy, in our constitution, nor in our 
laws do we find the primary school districts restricted in the 
branches of knowledge which their officers may cause to be 
taught, or the grade of instruction that may be given, if their 
voters consent, in regular form, to bear the expense and raise 
the taxes for the purpose." 

This case not only settled the question which it raised 
within the territorial limits of the state of Michigan. It 
settled also the general policy of the American common- 
wealths in this matter. The opinion of the court, in its 
ample setting-forth, made clear the fact that American 
thought and purpose were moving steadily toward a com- 
plete system of education, under full public control, its 



20 SECONDARY EDUCATION [l6o 

several parts well knit together so as to form an organic 
whole. 

But in several of the states the people were not left to 
work out the problem of secondary education in the isola- 
tion of scattered communities. In these states, well ordered 
systems of secondary schools were established by statute. 
As early as 1798, Connecticut authorized the opening of 
higher schools by the local authorities (" school societies "). 
In Massachusetts, the law requiring grammar schools in the 
towns was so far weakened, in 1824, that towns having a 
population of less than 5,000 were allowed to substitute 
therefor an elementary school, if the people should so 
determine by vote at a public election. This marks the low- 
est ebb of public school sentiment in the Bay state — at 
least so far as secondary education was concerned. The 
academies were then at the height of their prosperity. But 
two years later the return movement set in. It was enacted 
that every town having five hundred families should provide 
a master to give instruction in history of the United States, 
bookkeeping, geometry, surveying and algebra ; and every 
town having four thousand inhabitants, a master capable of 
giving instruction in Latin and Greek, history, rhetoric, and 
logic. The young state of Iowa adopted a provision in 
1849 expressly permitting the adding of higher grades to 
the public schools; and in 1858 authorized the establish- 
ment of county high schools. In New York, the systematic 
grading of the schools went steadily forward ; and the 
"academic departments" of these schools, corresponding to 
the high schools of other states, formed a part of the uni- 
versity of the state of New York and received financial aid 
from the literature fund. In Maryland, the county acade- 
mies, which had displaced the grammar schools of colonial 
days, continued for many years to receive financial aid from 
the state, and only in comparatively recent times were 
merged into a state system of high schools. 

Other important state establishments have taken shape at 
so recent a date that they will be described later under the 
account of present-day systems of schools. 



l6l] SECONDARY EDUCATION 2 1 

THE OLD AND THE NEW 

We have seen that by the middle of the nineteenth cen- 
tury a great change had come over secondary education in 
the United States. Two aspects of the new order of things 
are worthy of note : First, the position in which it placed 
the old academies ; secondly, the tendency which it marked 
toward a closing up of gaps in the system of public 
instruction. 

The academies had long been the ordinary and accepted 
agency for secondary education. They had provided a 
general training for the great body of students. They had 
also drawn near to the colleges, and now prepared a large 
proportion of the candidates for admission to the fresh- 
man class. Private schools * had grown up which paid 
especial attention to fitting boys for college ; and from the 
earliest times many had received such preparation at the 
hands of private tutors, and particularly under the personal 
direction of clergymen. But the academies were now par 
excellence the preparatory schools of the country. The 
growth of high schools had taken away from them the char- 
acter of the ordinary provision for secondary education. 
Many of them declined as the high schools advanced ; many 
were given over to the communities in which they were con- 
ducted and became high schools, under public management. 
Those that survived laid more and more stress on their func- 
tion of preparing for college. A goodly number of these 
are stronger now than ever before ; and new schools* of this 
type are founded from time to time. In recent years the 
increase of wealth, the rise of new social distinctions, dis- 
satisfaction with the colorless religious character of the 
high schools, and many other causes, have caused a new 
demand for such schools to arise. They prepare for col- 
lege, but do not in general look upon this as their sole 
function. They are recognized as constituting a highly 
important part of American provision for public education. 
While the high schools are for day pupils only, the acade- 



2 2 SECONDARY EDUCATION [l62 

mies are generally boarding- schools. They afford favorable 
ground for the deep rooting and vigorous growth of tradi- 
tions of culture and scholarship. The more famous of them 
draw students from long distances, and accordingly exercise 
a widespead influence upon American educational standards. 
The high schools, on the other hand, are an evidence of 
the widespread desire in America for complete systems of 
education under public management. The impulse which 
resulted in their establishment is closely related to that 
which, especially in the southern and western states, led to 
the founding of state universities. The organic connection 
between the high schools and schools of elementary grade 
has already been noted. At the first there was a recognized 
gap between the high schools and institutions of higher 
learning. The earliest high schools were intended specifi- 
cally for those who were not preparing for college. But 
there soon appeared a disposition on the part of the public 
school authorities to close up this gap. Studies regarded as 
distinctively preparatory to college were from time to time 
introduced into high school courses. Of these, Greek 
had and still has the most precarious hold upon public 
favor. Yet there were and still are even small communi- 
ties remote from the great centers of wealth and learning, 
where Greek has an assured and honored place in the 
high school curriculum. 

A CONTINUOUS SYSTEM OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

It should be stated here that well-established American 
usage now recognizes three consecutive stages of instruction, 
commonly distributed as follows : Eight years are assigned 
to the elementary school ; four years to the high school or 
academy, following directly upon the elementary course ; 
and the four years next following to the college, which offers 
finally the bachelor's degree. The whole course from the 
primary school to the first degree is accordingly sixteen 
years in length. It should be noted, however, that there is 
a growing disposition to recognize the first two years of the 



163] SECONDARY EDUCATION 23 

college course as offering instruction which is essentially of 
secondary grade. And there is also a growing demand for 
the introduction of secondary studies and secondary methods 
into the upper grades of the elementary school course. 

The tendency of public high schools to assume the func- 
tion of preparation for college met with strong opposition. 
It was claimed that this service could best be rendered by 
special schools conducted for that express purpose. The 
discussion of this question has brought out two contrasting 
ideals of American life, and has shown more clearly the 
nature of the movement which called the high school into 
being. 

The colonial period was a time in which distinctions of 
rank were still fairly well defined in American society. 
The higher schools of that time, intended especially for the 
ruling class, had no organic connection with the lower 
schools. The secondary schools were a part of the higher 
system, and had little or nothing to do with the lower. 

The first fifty years or more of independence was a time 
of readjustment. The earlier system of social levels was 
gradually transformed into a continuous series of grada- 
tions. Society became an inclined plane, as it were, with 
free and open passage up and down the scale. Every school 
child was taught to consider himself as started on a way 
which might lead to the highest places. 

It seems inevitable that public education should in turn 
have been influenced by the sentiments which it had helped 
to form. An unlimited system of public schools was neces- 
sary to the realization of the unlimited aspiration of the 
people. The prevalent instinct slowly rose to a conscious 
determination that there should be no cul-de-sac in the edu- 
cational systems of the republic. 

THE SCHOOLS AND THE COLLEGES 

Even when the high schools had begun to prepare their 
more favored students for college, the connection between 
the secondary and the higher institutions was not so close as 



24 SECONDARY EDUCATION [164 

was desired. In some of the leading states of the east, the 
chief, or indeed the only, provision for higher education was 
in institutions managed by private corporations. In many 
of the newer states, there were growing up universities under 
full state control. But these universities were supported out 
of funds separate from those devoted to the common schools, 
and were controlled by separate administrative boards. The 
requirements for admission to college were determined by 
the college faculties, with only incidental reference to the 
purely educational problems confronting the secondary 
schools. The fitness of candidates for admission was deter- 
mined by an examination, conducted at the college, by col- 
lege instructors, and covering the requirements which the 
college had prescribed. 

This system, to be sure, possessed great advantages. It 
compelled all schools which undertook preparation for a 
given college to come up to a definite scholastic standard 
imposed from without. It exercised no authority over the 
schools, but exerted an influence which a preparatory school 
could not escape. Besides, the standard set for classes pre- 
paring for college had an indirect influence on classes in the 
same school which were pursuing other lines of study. So 
the most powerful single agency affecting the course and the 
methods of instruction in the better high schools, as in the 
academies, was for many years the entrance examinations of 
the several colleges. 

But there were evils attendant upon this system. When 
the excellence of a four-year course of school instruction was 
to be tested by a single examination at the end of the course 
— this examination being conducted by the instructors in 
another, and often a remote institution, with sole reference 
to the plans and purposes of that institution, — it was inevi- 
table that the lower school should become merely tributary 
in all essential particulars to the higher. The college exam- 
ination became the chief end and aim of much of the work 
in our secondary schools. There appeared a marked ten- 
dency to substitute a cramming process for real educational 



165] SECONDARY EDUCATION 25 

procedure. Teachers in secondary schools were too largely- 
turned aside from independent investigation of the essen- 
tial problems of secondary education, to the more petty 
inquiry into the exact nature of the entrance examinations 
at certain colleges. It was clear that such a state of things 
did not answer to the organic continuity of instruction which 
American social conditions seemed to demand. 

The attempt to correct this evil has taken several different 
directions. Some of the most interesting movements affect- 
ing our secondary education within the past three decades 
have had this origin. How may a more vital relation be 
established between secondary schools and colleges, which 
shall conserve the highest educational interests of both ? 
Such is the general question for which a solution has been 
sought. 

THE " ACCREDITING SYSTEM " 

One of the earliest and most noteworthy attempts at its 
solution is the so-called accrediting system, introduced by the 
University of Michigan in 1871. Under this system, the 
university admits to its freshman class, without examination, 
such graduates of approved secondary schools as are espe- 
cially recommended for that purpose by the principals of 
those schools. This system has met with great favor and 
has had widespread application. The United States com- 
missioner of education reported in 1896, that there were 
then 42 state universities and agricultural and mechanical 
colleges, and about 150 other institutions in which it had 
been adopted. It depends upon a purely voluntary agree- 
ment between the secondary schools and the higher institu- 
tions. The college or university satisfies itself that the 
secondary school applying for such recognition is properly 
taught. Usually a committee of the faculty is sent to 
■inspect the school, and the school agrees to submit itself to 
such inspection. It is the school rather than the individual 
that is examined ; and the inquiry relates chiefly to the vital- 
ity, intelligence, and general effectiveness of the instruction. 



26 SECONDARY EDUCATION [l66 

Hardly any two institutions follow exactly the same 
method in the practice of accrediting schools. The Michi- 
gan system provides for inspection of each school by a com- 
mittee of the faculty, consisting of one or two members. 
On a favorable report from this committee the school is 
accredited for one, two, or three years, according to the 
degree of established excellence which it presents. With 
the spread of the system to other institutions, it has differ- 
entiated on the one hand in the direction of a more frequent 
and thorough-going inspection of the schools, and on the 
other hand in the direction of less thorough inspection or 
none at all. Perhaps the lowest outcome of this differentia- 
tion is represented by the announcement of the authorities 
of one college that " Students bearing the personal certifi- 
cates of a former teacher, concerning studies satisactorily 
completed, will be given credit for the work they have 
done." 

On the other hand, the highest grade of efficiency in 
university inspection is found in such a system as that main- 
tained by the University of California. Here the accred- 
iting of schools is in the charge of a committee of the 
academic senate, representing the chief departments of 
instruction. All secondary schools within the state which 
apply for accrediting — public high schools, private schools, 
and institutions under corporate or ecclesiastical manage- 
ment — are visited each year under the direction of this 
committee by several members of the teaching force of the 
university. A given school is commonly so visited and 
inspected in the course of each year by instructors from 
each of the university departments of English, Latin, his- 
tory, mathematics, and physics. In some instances, the 
departments of Greek, modern languages, chemistry, and the 
biological sciences, or any one or more of them, may be 
added to the list. In other cases, the visitor from the 
department of English, for example, may, by special arrange- 
ment, examine the school for the Latin department ; and 
other economical combinations are made from time to time. 



167] SECONDARY EDUCATION 2 J 

The heads of departments visit many schools in person ; 
university instructors of various subordinate grades share in 
this labor ; but so far as possible the assignment to such 
duty is limited to persons of considerable scholastic experi- 
ence, and experience as a teacher in secondary schools is 
regarded as a qualification of no small importance. The 
men who go out for the purpose of such visitation are at 
the time engaged in ordinary university instruction. The 
loss to their classes from the interruptions to continuous 
work which their occasional absence must cause, is mini- 
mized by various devices. The expense of the visitation is 
borne by the university. A school may be "accredited" 
without a favorable report in all subjects, but the report 
must be favorable in a sufficient number of lines to indicate 
that the school is a real educational institution. Superior 
excellence in a single isolated department is not regarded 
as constituting a claim to a place on the university list. 

The purpose of a well-considered accrediting system is not 
primarily to provide a means whereby applicants for admis- 
sion to college may escape a dreaded examination. It is 
rather to encourage and build up strong and efficient 
schools of secondary grade. This result the system has 
undoubtedly tended to bring about. It has drawn our sec- 
ondary and higher grades of instruction into closer articu- 
lation and sympathy one with the other. It has tended to 
release the teachers in secondary schools from the domina- 
tion of merely formal examination requirements, and has 
turned their attention to vital matters in the domain of 
education. 

On the other hand, the system has had and still has 
serious disadvantages. It tends to foster a too prevalent 
disposition to dispense with or evade all tests of accurate 
scholarship in the shape of definite examinations. It 
entails a heavy burden upon the higher institution ; it 
demands large expenditures of money and of the time of 
university instructors. In the University of California, the 
actual cost in money for the traveling expenses of the inspec- 



28 SECONDARY EDUCATION [l63 

tors is about equal to the salary of an assistant professor. 
The aggregate of the time required each year by all depart- 
ments for the purposes of the examination of schools is not 
far from three full academic years. Counting the average 
salary of the inspectors as that of an associate professor, we 
have here an approximate total cost for services and travel- 
ing expenses of between $8,000 and $9,000 annually. It is, 
moreover, impossible so to conduct the inspection that all 
departments of all schools shall be tried by uniform or even 
consistent standards of excellence. Nor does the accrediting 
system wholly obviate the evil of subjecting the secondary 
schools to tests and influences somewhat foreign to the real 
purposes of secondary education. It cannot be regarded 
and is not generally regarded as a final solution of the prob- 
lem with which it deals. But it marks a very great advance 
toward that end ; and it is safe to say that its present advan- 
tages greatly outweigh its obvious disadvantages. 

SCHOOL AND COLLEGE ASSOCIATIONS 

Parallel with the later development of the accrediting sys- 
tem, there have grown up important voluntary associations 
of instructors, in which representatives of the colleges meet 
with representatives of the secondary schools for the discus- 
sion of topics of common interest. The parent society of 
this sort is the New England association of colleges and 
preparatory schools, organized at Boston in 1885. The 
object of this association was declared to be, " The estab- 
lishment of mutually sympathetic and helpful relations 
between the faculties of the colleges represented and the 
teachers of the preparatory schools, and the suggestion to 
that end of practical measures and methods of work which 
shall strengthen both classes of institutious by bringing 
them into effective harmony." 

This organization grew out of a previously existing state 
association of secondary school teachers in Massachusetts. 
It in turn prompted the establishment of the commission of 
colleges in New England on admission examinations. This 



l6oJ SECONDARY EDUCATION 29 

commission, formed by agreement among the several New 
England colleges, and possessing no authority, has by its 
recommendations done much to unify the requirements for 
college matriculation. Its most notable achievement has 
been the mapping out of requirements in the English lan- 
guage and literature. It has made important recommenda- 
tions also with reference to courses in the ancient classics 
and the modern languages. 

The example of New England has been followed by other 
sections of the country. The association of colleges and 
preparatory schools in the middle states and Maryland came 
into existence in 1892, growing out of the college association 
of Pennsylvania, established five years earlier. The north 
central association of colleges and secondary schools was 
formed at Evanston, Illinois, in 1895 ; and the association of 
colleges and preparatory schools of the southern states, at 
Atlanta, Georgia, later in the same year. State organiza- 
tions somewhat similar in character are found in a number 
of the states, as in New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Colorado, 
Michigan, and both Dakotas. 

These various societies, through their discussions and rec- 
ommendations, have exercised a vast influence upon the 
development of our secondary education. 

THE COMMITTEE OF TEN ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDIES 

But the chief landmark in the recent history of this grade 
of school is the work of the committee on secondary school 
studies, appointed by the National educational association 
in 1892, and commonly known as the " committee of ten." 
This committee was the outcome of a movement within the 
national association in the direction of uniformity of col- 
lege entrance requirements. Its chairman was the president 
of Harvard university. In its membership were included 
the United States commissioner of education and some of 
the foremost representatives of both secondary and higher 
education in America. Not limiting itself to the mechanical 
adjustment of relations between the high school and the col- 



30 SECONDARY EDUCATION [170 

lege, this committee proceeded to consider the problem of sec- 
ondary education from an educational point of view. Nine 
sub-committees of ten members each, were appointed to pre- 
pare reports on the several ordinary departments of sec- 
ondary school instruction, viz., Latin, Greek, English, other 
modern languages, mathematics, physics (with astronomy 
and chemistry), natural history (biology, including botany, 
zoology, and physiology), history (with civil government and 
political economy), and geography (physical geography, 
geology, and meteorology). 

The committee of ten, having secured carefully prepared 
reports from its sub-committees, and having examined a large 
number of the courses in actual use in secondary schools, 
drew up a report which was published by the United States 
government in December, 1893, together with the reports of 
the several sub-committees. The contents of this document 
may be briefly summarized as follows : 

In all of these discussions, the distribution of the years of 
school life now generally followed in the educational admin- 
istration of the American states is assumed as a datum. The 
demand for an earlier introduction of secondary school studies 
is, however, reiterated by several of the sub-committees. They 
call attention to the disadvantage to students pursuing, for 
instance, the study of Latin, which results from postponing 
the beginnings of that study to the ninth year of the school 
course, when the student has already passed the most favor- 
able time for memorizing paradigms and a strange vocabu- 
lary. The committee of ten, while approving strongly of 
these recommendations, confine their proposals to improve- 
ments in the ordinary four-year secondary course. 

After discussing the principles which should guide in the 
framing of courses of study, the committee present four 
sample courses, which may be taken as illustrations of the 
application of those principles. These sample courses are, 
however, generally regarded as the least successful and sig- 
nificant outcome of the committee's labors. The portions 
of the report which represent the most mature deliberation 



1 7lJ SECONDARY EDUCATION 3 1 

are those which propose general principles for guidance in 
the making of such courses. 

The committee lay great stress on the correlation of 
studies in secondary schools : the unifying of many subjects 
into a well-knit course of instruction, through the recognition 
of their numerous inter-relations. They endorse the unani- 
mous recommendation of the sub-committees that the instruc- 
tion in any given subject shall not be different for a student 
preparing to enter a higher institution from that for students 
who go no further than the high school. They make an 
urgent plea for more highly trained teachers. They declare 
against a multiplicity of " short information courses," such as 
have been given in many high schools in times past : a dip 
into one science followed by a dip into another, and no deep 
draught from any. Instead, they recommend that such sub- 
jects as are studied be pursued consecutively enough and 
extensively enough to yield that training which each is best 
fitted to yield. They would have continuous instruction 
in the four main lines of language, mathematics, history, and 
natural science. In particular, they recommend that in the 
first two years of a four-year course, each student should 
enter all of the principal fields of knowledge, in order that 
he may fairly " exhibit his quality and discover his tastes." 
They recommend the postponement of the beginning of 
Greek to the third year, in order that the student may not 
find himself at the bifurcation of the course into classical and 
Latin-scientific courses, before he is ready, or his advisers suffi- 
ciently informed as to his capabilities, to make an intelligent 
choice. The committee would require in each course a 
maximum of twenty recitation periods a week ; but they 
would have five of these periods devoted to unprepared 
work ; and would reserve double periods for laboratory exer- 
cises whenever possible. 

Within the limitations indicated above, as to continuity 
and extensiveness of studies in each of the broad divisions 
of knowledge, the committee would leave to the individual 
student and his advisers the largest possible freedom in the 



32 SECONDARY EDUCATION \_ l 7 2 

choice of studies. With reference to requirements lor admis- 
sion to college, the committee recommend " that the colleges 
and scientific schools of the country should accept for admis- 
sion to appropriate courses of their instruction the attain- 
ments of any youth who has passed creditably through a 
good secondary school course, no matter to what group of 
subjects he may have mainly devoted himself in the second- 
ary school." Describing more exactly what might be con- 
sidered " a good secondary school course " for this purpose, 
they propose that it shall consist of any group of studies 
from those considered by the sub-committees, " provided 
that the sum of the studies in each of the four years amounts 
to sixteen, or eighteen, or twenty periods a week, — as may 
be thought best, — and provided, further, that in each year 
at least four of the subjects presented shall have been pur- 
sued at least three periods a week, and that at least three of 
the subjects shall have been pursued three years or more." 

This report called forth a very active discussion, which has 
not yet come to an end. The definite courses of study 
which it suggested have not been widely adopted ; nor have 
college admission requirements been made uniform in the 
manner which it proposed. But its influence has been far- 
reaching and, in the main, highly beneficial. 

THE ELECTIVE SYSTEM 

Since the early days of the academies, it has been cus- 
tomary in many schools to offer alternative courses ; one of 
them classical, the other " modern." Other options have 
been added from time to time, so that now a large school 
commonly offers several parallel courses. But especially 
within the last twenty years, there has appeared a strong 
demand that instead of a choice of courses the students be 
offered a wide range of choice in particular subjects. 

Several influences have combined to bring about this 
demand. The general adoption of an elective system in 
the colleges may be mentioned. Teachers have objected to 
close prescription in high schools when freedom is increasing 



173] SECONDARY EDUCATION 33 

in the higher institutions. The conviction that the secondary 
schools should not be merely tributary to the colleges is gain- 
ing ground. What is good education in the high school, it is 
maintained, is good preparation for the higher schools. The 
independence of the secondary school carries with it inde- 
pendent responsibility for the supply of the actual educa- 
tional needs of the youth attending such a school. And the 
students in the high schools are thought to have reached the 
stage of differentiation of educational needs. The need of 
the state, moreover, which education must satisfy, is the 
need of full spiritual unity underlying the utmost diversity 
of talent and culture. The elementary schools, with their 
single course of study, are conservators of spiritual unity. 
The secondary schools can and ought to serve a different 
purpose. Their instruction should be adapted to the culti- 
vation of the diverse talents of the youth enrolled in them. 
No two students have exactly the same aptitudes ; so far as 
possible, every student should pursue a different course of 
instruction from every other student. 

It will be seen that one tendency of this doctrine is to 
substitute a quantitative for a qualitative consideration of 
the curriculum. The most diverse subjects are held to be 
equivalent for the purposes of general culture, if pursued for 
equal periods of time under equally favorable conditions. A 
high school curriculum, under this system, would consist of a 
fixed number of units of study, to be chosen at will from the 
whole number of studies taught in the school. Certain utter- 
ances of the committee of ten have tended to strengthen 
this quantitative view of the curriculum. It has received 
reinforcement, also, from some prominent institutions of 
higher instruction, as the Indiana and the Leland Stan- 
ford Junior universities, which have stated their admission 
requirements for the most part in quantitative terms. 

In the attempt to reduce this doctrine to practice, cer- 
tain modifications necessarily enter. The choice of studies 
cannot be left simply to the immature pupil. He must have 
the advice of parents or guardians, and particularly the 



34 SECONDARY EDUCATION [ I 74 

advice of the principal of the school. Even if other sub- 
jects may be given over to absolute freedom of election, 
studies in English are found to be indispensable in every 
course. Little by little, other subjects are acknowledged to 
be essential ; until it appears that there is little difference in 
practical working between a system of parallel courses ren- 
dered flexible by the allowing of occasional substitutions, and 
an adequately supervised elective system. The committee 
of ten enunciated an important regulative principle in pro- 
posing that each secondary school curriculum should provide 
an outlook into the several domains of language, mathematics, 
history, and natural science. From whichever side the prob- 
lem of the course of study is approached, the discussions seem 
to tend toward a requirement in each of several broad fields 
of knowledge, together with large freedom in the choice of 
particular subjects within those fields. 

COLLEGE ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS 

The latest attempt at an adjustment of the relations of 
secondary schools and colleges, to the educational advantage 
of both, is contained in the report of the committee on col- 
lege entrance requirements. It seems not unlikely that this 
report may be more fruitful of tangible results than any of the 
papers relating to the same subject which have preceded it. 

In 1 895, the National educational association, through its 
departments of secondary education and higher education, 
appointed a committee to consider the specific question of 
the unification of college entrance requirements. This com- 
mittee, as finally constituted, consisted of fourteen members, 
representing the high schools and universities of different 
sections of the country, under the chairmanship of the 
superintendent of high schools of the city of Chicago. The 
first important service rendered by the committee was the 
preparation and publication of a table showing the actual 
entrance requirements of sixty-seven representative colleges, 
universities, and higher technical schools in the United 
States. 



1/5] SECONDARY EDUCATION 35 

The committee's final report was presented at the meet- 
ing of the National educational association in July, 1899. 
This report is mainly devoted to the attempt to establish 
" national units, or norms," in the several subjects taught in 
the secondary schools as preparatory to the college course. 
The fundamental problem, in the language of the committee, 
" is to formulate courses of study in each of the several sub- 
jects of the curriculum which shall be substantially equal in 
value, the measure of value being both quantity and quality 
of work done. It is not to be expected, nor is it desired, that 
all colleges should make the same entrance requirements, 
nor is it to be expected that all schools will have the same 
program of studies. What is to be desired, and what the 
committee hopes may become true, is that the colleges will 
state their entrance requirements in terms of national units, 
or norms, and that the schools will build up their program of 
studies out of the units furnished by these separate courses 
of study." This hope is reinforced by experience with col- 
lege entrance requirements in English, which have within 
the past few years become nearly uniform throughout 
the country, on the basis of the recommendations of the 
commission of colleges in New England on admission 
examinations. 

In the determination of these norms, the committee 
received assistance from several bodies of expert scholars 
in the several branches of instruction. The American 
philological association proposed courses of study in Latin 
and Greek. The modern language association of America 
rendered a like service with reference to the French and 
German languages. The American historical association and 
the Chicago section of the American mathematical society 
reported on courses in history and mathematics. And the 
department of natural-science instruction of the national edu- 
cational association presented recommendations relating to 
physical geography, chemistry, botany, zoology, and physics. 
These several supplemental papers are published in connec- 
tion with the committee's report. The committee express 



36 SECONDARY EDUCATION [176 

general approval of the courses recommended in these 
papers, suggest some slight modifications, and offer an 
independent report on the subject of English. Their 
further recommendations are summed up in fourteen reso- 
lutions, of which the following seem to be of the greatest 
general significance : 

I. That the principle of election be recognized in second- 
ary schools. 

IV. That we favor a unified six-year high school course 
of study beginning with the seventh grade. 

VI. That while the committee recognizes as suitable for 
recommendation by the colleges for admission the several 
studies enumerated in this report, and while it also recog- 
nizes the principle of large liberty to the students in second- 
ary schools, it does not believe in unlimited election, but 
especially emphasizes the importance of a certain number of 
constants in all secondary schools and in all requirements 
for admission to college. 

That the committee recommends that the number of con- 
stants be recognized in the following proportion, namely : 
four units in foreign languages (no language accepted in less 
than two units), two units in mathematics, two in English, 
one in history, and one in science. 

XII. That we recommend that any piece of work com- 
prehended within the studies included in this report that has 
covered at least one year of four periods a week in a well- 
equipped secondary school, under competent instruction, 
should be considered worthy to count toward admission to 
college. 

The committee disclaim any implication that different 
subjects may be regarded as educationally equivalent. " This 
proposition" [resolution XII], they say, "does not involve 
of itself, necessarily, the idea that all subjects are of equal 
cultural or disciplinary value, * * * yet the advantages 
to our educational system of the adoption of this principle 
will be so great as far to outweigh any incidental disadvan- 
tage which may accrue from accepting as of equal value for 



177] SECONDARY EDUCATION T>7 

college purposes the more or less unequal values represented 
by these studies." 

COURSES OF STUDY 

The actual courses of study in our secondary schools show 
great diversity. There is here, as in other portions of the 
American educational system, no semblance of national con- 
trol. There are but few states if any where the course of 
study is prescribed by state authority. This matter is gen- 
erally left to the discretion of municipal or district boards of 
education. Yet the differences between neighboring schools, 
or between the schools of different sections of the country, are 
not so great as one might suppose. Owing to the extensive 
circulation of all sorts of educational publications, and the 
frequent meeting of teachers one with another in educa- 
tional conventions, there is a surprising approach toward 
uniformity in the educational provisions found in all parts of 
the country. Even the poorer and more backward sections 
are often found striving conscientiously and earnestly after 
the ideals proposed by more favored districts. High schools 
may be found having courses ranging all the way from one 
to six years in length ; but the four-year course is the gen- 
erally recognized standard. Twenty years ago, it was com- 
mon to find courses weighed down with a large number of 
subjects, many of them pursued for only a fraction of a year. 
This was notably true of subjects in natural science ; but it 
is true to a much* less extent at the present day. In spite of 
all assaults made upon the classical studies, they are appa- 
rently growing in favor. It would perhaps be fair to say 
that in many of the better schools, public as well as private, 
the classical course is commonly regarded as the standard, 
from which the other courses pursued in the same school are 
looked upon as variants. But the classical course now com- 
monly includes one or two years of natural science. 

The courses given below represent three different types 
of school : 

i. Courses in Phillips academy, Andover, Massachusetts. 
— an incorporated and endowed boarding school for boys. 



38 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



[l 7 8 



[The figures in the columns indicate the number of recitation periods a week 
devoted to the several subjects. Figures in parentheses indicate that the subjects 
for which they stand are alternative with others in the same column.] 





CLASSICAL COURSE 


SCIENTIFIC COURSE 




> 

cd 

U 


O 







Q 
O 


u 


U 





English 

Latin 


4 
6 


2 

5 

4 

(4) 

(4) 

2 


2 

5 

5 

(0 

(1) 

2 

3 


Eighteen hours selected from the 
foregoing subjects, with the addi- 
tion of pnysics, trigonometry, 
mechanical drawing and zoology. 


4 

6 


2 

4 


2 
(2) 






SJS-SS 


French 


2 
2 

2 


(4) 

(4) 

3 

3 


(2) 
(2) 

3 

3 
4 


TjxEft 


German 

Algebra 

Geometry 

History 


2 
2 


hours selects 
subjects, wi 

rigonometry, 
zoology, 

and physics. 


Natural Science. 


2 




S-S^cG 


Chemistry . . . 


2 


(4) 

(2) 


J= c * c 


Botany 








5fo.2 u 











2. Courses recommended for the high schools of Minne- 
sota by the state high school board. 





LATIN SCIENTIFIC COURSE 




First 
year 


Second 
year 


Third 
year 


P'ourth 
year 


English 


5 
5 
5 


5 
5 
5 

5 


5 
5 

5 
5 


5 
5 
5 


Latin 


Mathematics 

H istory 


Natural science 


5 


5 



In Latin, first year, grammar; second year, Caesar ; third 
year, Cicero; fourth year, Virgil. In mathematics, first 
year, algebra ; second year, plane geometry ; fourth year, 
solid geometry and higher algebra. In natural science, first 
year, zoology or botany ; third year, physics ; fourth year, 
chemistry. 



179] 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



39 



Literary Course: as above, substituting four years of 
German for Latin. 

Classical Course : as above, substituting Greek grammar 
and Anabasis for equivalents. 

English Course: as above, substituting for Latin four 
credits chosen from botany, physiography, bookkeeping, 
civics, history, political economy, and senior common 
branches. 

3. Course for Public Latin school, Boston, Massachusetts : 





Class VI 


Class V 


Class IV 


Class III 


Class II 


Class I 


English 


3 

5 


3 

5 


3 

7 [4] 

[4] 

[3] 


3 
4 

5 
3 


3 

5 
5 
2 


3 
4 

5 


Latin 


Greek 


French 






German 






5 


Arithmetic 

Algebra 


4 [5] 


4 


"4 [3] 


3 


3 


Geometry 






4 




3 
3 


3 
3 


2 

I 


2 


2 


Geography 

Physics 


4 

2 


Gymnastics 

Military Drill 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 











The brackets indicate an assignment of hours for the 
spring term which differs from that in the same subjects 
for the remainder of the year. Botany, physiology and 
hygiene are studied during the spring term in the hours 
assigned to geography in the table. Objective geometry is 
studied in connection with arithmetic in classes VI and V. 
Plane geometry is begun in the hours assigned to algebra in 
class II. 

DIFFERENTIATION OF SCHOOLS 

The differentiation which appears everywhere in our sec- 
ondary education is not limited to the diversifying of studies 
within the several schools ; it appears also in the erection of 
special schools for special classes of students. In the first 
place, we may note the provision for separate schooling of 



4-0 SECONDARY EDUCATION [l8o 

boys and girls. The grammar schools of the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries were for boys alone. A number of 
the old academies were co-educational. Early in the nine- 
teenth century, academies for girls exclusively were estab- 
lished, and large numbers of such schools have flourished 
down to the present day. A public high school for girls was 
established at Boston in 1826, but it was short-lived, owing 
to the large expense which it entailed. At Providence, 
Rhode Island, in 1843, a co-educational high school was 
opened ; and the most of the high schools established since 
that time have been for both sexes. 

The report of the United States commissioner of educa- 
tion for 1896-97 showed a total of 5,109 public high schools 
in the whole country, of which 35 were for boys only, 26 for 
girls only, and the remainder co-educational. The same 
report showed a total of 2,100 private high schools, acade- 
mies, etc., of which 351 were for boys only, 537 for girls 
only, and 1,212 co-educational. 

Another special type of school, the evening high school, 
has been established in a number of our larger cities. These 
schools have offered very elastic courses of study, suited to 
the varied needs of their clientage ; and have been a great 
boon to many who have been obliged to work by day after 
the completion of an elementary school course. 

In the northern and western states, white and colored 
students, where there are colored students of secondary 
grade, commonly attend the same schools. In the southern 
states, separate schools are provided for those of African 
race. The report of the commissioner of education for 
1896-97 showed 169 schools in the United States for the 
secondary and higher education of colored youth exclusively. 
In many of these schools both grades of instruction were 
provided in the same institution. About 20 of the number 
were public high schools. The remainder were private or 
denominational institutions. In these 169 schools, 15,203 
colored students were receiving instruction of secondary 
grade. 



l8l] SECONDARY EDUCATION 4 1 

The European manual training exhibits at the centennial 
exhibition in Philadelphia, in 1876, gave a strong impetus 
to a movement already begun toward the establishment of 
manual training schools in American cities. St. Louis took 
a step forward, in 1879, m tne establishment of such a school 
in connection with Washington university. Within a few 
years, similar schools were established, some under private 
and some under public control, in Baltimore, Chicago, 
Toledo, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities. In these 
schools, the idea of manual training for the purposes of 
general culture was usually uppermost, their projectors dis- 
claiming any intention of establishing schools for the teach- 
ing of trades. More recently trade schools have been 
established in the largest cities, but for the most part under 
private initiative and control. 

The commercial spirit of this country finds expression in 
the frequent appearance of such subjects as bookkeeping 
and commercial arithmetic in general courses of study. 
Special schools for distinctively commercial training are 
usually private ventures. These are found in great numbers 
in all parts of the country, generally going by the name of 
"commercial college" or "business college." In 1896-97, 
the commissioner of education presented reports from 341 
such schools, with 77,746 students in attendance. Within 
the past decade there has been a growing demand for public 
commercial high schools in the larger cities. Thus far, com- 
paratively slight provision has been made to meet this 
demand, but there is reason to expect that there will in the 
near future be a considerable expansion of our public educa- 
tion on this side. The business high school in Washington, 
D. C, may be mentioned as one illustration of the serious 
interest which has begun to appear in this side of secondary 
instruction. 

The recognition of the importance and need of purely 
vocational schools of secondary grade puts a new aspect on 
the problem of the school curriculum. As has been shown, 
Americans are loath to recognize any necessity of a bifur- 



42 SECONDARY EDUCATION [182 

cation of courses, such that the student taking one road 
finds the way open to indefinite advancement in higher 
studies, while one taking the other alternative finds a defi- 
nite limit a little way before him. We have commonly failed 
to recognize the need of turning aside at some point, early or 
late, to master a distinct occupation in life. We have been 
willing to sacrifice expertness in one's calling to the hope 
of unlimited progress in higher culture. With the growing 
interest in technical training of a commercial or mechanical 
sort, there appears a set of difficult problems. A purely 
vocational course in a trade school presents no educational 
outlook beyond the mastery of the trade. If a final choice 
must be made between the highway of learning and the 
cul-de-sac, how shall it be so far postponed as to give to 
each pupil his full share of general culture, without reduc- 
ing unduly his chance of full preparation for his life work ? 
Still more difficult are the questions relating to certain semi- 
vocational courses, such as those of the manual training high 
school. The tendency is to regard these as primarily courses 
for general culture, with an outlook into the college or the 
higher scientific school. It is possible that at times their 
service as preparatory to the mastery of certain trades has 
been somewhat obscured in this view. But questions such 
as these are still before us for settlement. 

THE STUDY OF ADOLESCENCE 

One movement should be mentioned which is part cause 
and part result of the increased attention which is now paid 
to problems of secondary education, in themselves consid- 
ered. Reference is made to the study of the several aspects 
of adolescence, as a stage in the mental development of indi- 
viduals. Secondary education being essentially the educa- 
tion of adolescents, whatever throws light upon the peculiar 
psychology and natural history of this period of youth is of 
value to the educator. Many studies of particular phases 
of adolescent development have been made within the past 
few years, under the stimulus of investigations begun at 



183] SECONDARY EDUCATION 43 

Clark university. These studies are as yet fragmentary ; 
and they cannot be said to have led to well-defined reforms. 
Yet their influence has been manifest in the general tone 
and spirit of secondary education. They have prompted to 
a more sympathetic treatment of our youth in their time of 
spiritual reconstruction ; to a better appreciation of the diffi- 
culties attending the passage from the intellectual depend- 
ence of childhood to the individual convictions of manhood 
and womanhood. They have led to a more careful obser- 
vation of individual differences of development, and have 
strengthened the demand for greater freedom in both 
courses and methods of instruction. Such results warrant 
the hope that further researches in this field may lead to 
generalized knowledge of the needs and aptitudes of youth, 
which will be of the highest significance in educational 
practice. 

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 

Methods of instruction in all secondary school subjects 
have been profoundly influenced of late from the side of 
the natural sciences. Laboratories have become common 
in high schools and academies. College entrance require- 
ments have been extended to include laboratory work in 
physics, and, in some instances, in chemistry or in the biologi- 
cal sciences. In Massachusetts, in 1897, it was reported that 
66 high schools were provided with laboratory facilities, 80 
had fair or limited facilities, and 98 had poor facilities or 
none. 

In these laboratories, students perform representative 
experiments in the science they are pursuing, under the guid- 
ance and subject to the criticism of the instructor. These 
experiments are commonly regarded as illustrative of or pre- 
paratory to the statement of principles in a text-book. The 
"method of re-discovery" has influenced the practice of the 
schools ; yet there are probably few school laboratories in 
which the students are expected to re-discover on their own 
account the laws of physics or chemistry, or of any other 
of the sciences. A fine blending of discovery, verification, 



44 SECONDARY EDUCATION [184 

and correction seems to be the ideal of our best teachers of 
natural science. Much stress is laid on the accurate record- 
ing of observations and experiments. The students' note- 
books serve as one of the chief tests of the excellence of 
their work. 

This is different from the prevailing method of a genera- 
tion ago : the text-book was then the main reliance in school 
instruction, even for classes in the natural sciences. 

The lecture system has never occupied a large place in 
our secondary schools. Clearness of exposition has always 
been, and will doubtless always be an important element in a 
teacher's equipment for teaching. Skillful instructors have at 
all times exercised themselves to help their pupils over diffi- 
culties in such manner as would prepare them to surmount 
future difficulties for themselves. And we read of old-time 
masters who were famous for their ability to ask searching 
and stimulating questions. But set lectures have not found 
favor here. Oral and written recitations by students, on the 
other hand, fill a large place in the work of our schools. 

The recent extension of laboratory exercises, together 
with the proportionate reduction of text-book study, repre- 
sents a notable change of view as to the function of instruc- 
tion in general. We find accordingly that a like change 
appears in the treatment of other branches than the natural 
sciences. The attempt is now made to put the student in 
touch with first-hand materials of knowledge ; and to guide 
and stimulate him to the end of making over these crude 
facts into real knowledge for himself. This procedure seeks 
to give full recognition to both the ideal and the sensuous ele- 
ments in knowledge ; and it indicates some appreciation of 
the fact that the ideal element to be truly ideal must be sup- 
plied by the active agency of the student's own thought, 
exercised upon the products of his own experience. 

In the practice of the schools, we find these principles 
applied, for example, to the teaching of history. While text- 
books are not dispensed with, the effort is made to give the 
student some acquaintance with the sources of our historical 



185] SECONDARY EDUCATION 45 

knowledge. In the study of literature, less attention is paid 
to historical summaries than was formerly the case, and more 
time is devoted to the study of literary masterpieces. In 
grammar and rhetoric, the study of principles is closely con- 
nected with the study of passages from literature which 
embody those principles in living forms ; and with composi- 
tion exercises upon topics which invite free expression. In 
the study of modern languages, facility in conversation is 
not commonly sought ; though there are schools here and 
there which lay great stress upon this acquisition. The 
ability to read the languages readily and with understanding, 
and to enter into an appreciation of their literatures, are the 
ends chiefly striven for. To these ends, grammatical study 
is of course necessary. But the grammar is studied, on the 
whole, less abstractly than formerly, and more in its actual 
embodiment in literature. Greater effort is made now than a 
generation ago to secure a reading knowledge of the ancient 
classics. More hope is held out to classes in Latin and Greek, 
that they may, with attentive effort, attain to such mastery. 
There is much difference of opinion among leading teachers 
as to the proportionate attention to be paid to " sight read- 
ing ; " and as to the value of the inductive method in the 
mastery of grammatical principles : but actual practice seems 
to be tending slowly toward a middle course, which retains 
much of the old-time thorough discipline in Latin and Greek 
grammar, but brings this training into more vital connection 
with the study of classic literature. The writing of Latin 
verse is generally discarded. Prose composition is receiving 
increased attention, and is now more imitative in its charac- 
ter than formerly, being commonly based on the Latin or 
Greek masterpiece which the class is studying at the same 
time. The question of approaching Attic through modern 
Greek has been warmly discussed, but the proposed change 
finds little, if any, acceptance in actual practice. In mathe- 
matics, much stress is laid upon the original demonstration 
of theorems, particularly in plane and solid geometry. It 
appears from time to time that instruction in mathematics is 



46 SECONDARY EDUCATION [l86 

weakened by a failure to insist upon the use of accurate lan- 
guage in demonstrations ; and from time to time fresh efforts 
are put forth to strengthen the work on this side. At the 
present day, especial stress is laid in some quarters upon 
the need of more careful and accurate English expression in 
all school exercises. The attempt to teach English expres- 
sion, oral and written, wholly through the medium of instruc- 
tion in other branches does not promise well ; but there is, 
fortunately, a growing recognition of the fact that all teachers 
must have at least some share in the responsibility for such 
instruction. 

MORAL VALUES 

The moral influence of secondary schools is undoubtedly 
the most important topic to be considered in this paper, but 
it is at the same time the most difficult to reduce to accurate 
statement. The religious background of moral instruction 
has already been referred to. It should be added that even 
in public high schools, from which all instruction in sectarian 
dogmas is strictly excluded, there is not uncommonly found 
a pervasive religious atmosphere, an influence emanating 
from the personal character of the instructors. In many 
of these schools, it is still customary to open the daily 
session with the reading of a passage from the Bible or 
the repetition of the Lord's prayer ; or with the singing of 
a devotional or patriotic hymn. But whatever there may 
be of religious tone and spirit in these schools is of a very 
general and unobtrusive sort, and far removed from ecclesi- 
asticism. Teachers wholly indifferent to dogmatic religion 
or in known opposition thereto are freely employed in the 
schools ; but would probably be found to constitute only a 
small minority of the teaching force of the country. In some 
schools, elementary ethics is taught, along with elementary 
psychology, or perhaps economics. But this is unusual. 
The moral force of the high schools depends, then, mainly 
on the personal influence of the teachers in their instruction 
in the ordinary school subjects ; on the government of the 
school ; and on the relations of the students one with another. 



187] SECONDARY EDUCATION 47 

Some subjects of instruction offer especial advantages as 
regards the formation of high ideals of conduct. The teach- 
ing of literature, and particularly the literature of the mother 
tongue, is found to be of great value in this respect — the 
more so, doubtless, when untimely moralizing is dispensed 
with, and noble sentiments are permitted to make their 
appeal through the charm of their artistic presentation. 
Choice works of plastic and pictorial art are rapidly finding 
their way into our school rooms. There is no systematic 
study of aesthetics in the school programs. These works of 
art are expected to accomplish their mission by their mere 
presence, sometimes supplemented by an informal discussion 
of their merits ; or they serve to reinforce the aesthetic side 
of instruction in literature and in drawing. In some schools 
music is steadily cultivated, and holds an honored place. 

History is probably, on the whole, the most neglected of the 
main lines of study in secondary schools ; and the moral loss 
resulting from such neglect is serious. Greek and Roman 
history is commonly taught, at least in classical courses ; but 
too often in a scrappy and inadequate fashion. Later Euro- 
pean history receives some attention. The history of the 
United States is, perhaps, the most seriously slighted of all. 
The reason for this seems to be that the history of our own 
country is studied in the grammar schools ; and it is not 
emphasized by the colleges as an admission subject. But a 
change for the better is slowly coming over the historical side 
of our school programs. 

Skillful teachers, however, maka instruction in all subjects 
moral — by arousing a pure desire for truth, a spirit of intel- 
lectual honesty, a will to work and to overcome difficulties, 
and a long line of modest and every-day virtues. 

The government of our best secondary schools, and even 
of many of the smaller schools, which are comparatively 
unknown, presents much which may be regarded with genu- 
ine satisfaction. The relations of teachers and students are 
comparatively informal. There is little consciousness of 
official or artificial barriers between them. While strict dis- 



48 SECONDARY EDUCATION [l88 

ciplinary measures are often found necessary and are often 
enforced with vigor, the prevalent type of high school and 
academy government is that which treats the students as if 
they were already ladies and gentlemen, and throws them as 
far as possible on their own responsibility. Some interesting 
and successful experiments have been made in the organiza- 
tion of regular systems of self-government among students. 
It would seem, however, that only a principal who has the 
strength and skill to govern well is capable of making a 
school into a truly self-governing body. 

Under any system of government, the social life of the 
school is the chief teacher of morals. It is one of the glories 
of American high schools that the children of rich and 
poor, of high and low, meet there on common ground. 
The fact that tuition in these schools is free to all, helps to 
bring about this result. It is unnecessary to point out the 
numberless bearings of this democratic spirit in the schools 
upon the pupils who are subject to its influence. 

There is undoubtedly a growing disposition among fami- 
lies of wealth and high social position, to send their children 
to private schools ; and this fact has tended of late to the 
increase of such schools. This disposition is, however, by 
no means universal. And while the atmosphere of a private 
boarding school is necessarily different from that of a pub- 
lic high school, it may be questioned whether in the great 
endowed schools of the country there is any marked encour- 
agement given to purely aristocratic tastes and tendencies. 
The principals of boarding schools find it necessary at times 
to protest against providing students with too lavish a sup- 
ply of spending money. And the fact that such protests are 
heard seems to indicate that there is a serious effort on the 
part of school authorities to minimize distinctions based on 
wealth. 

STUDENTS 

The social organization of the students in these schools 
calls for further notice. High schools and academies are 
much alike in this respect. The instinct of association is 



189] SECONDARY EDUCATION 49 

strong in our youth, and it finds expression in all sorts of 
clubs, leagues, societies, and fraternities. The example of 
the colleges has been influential in the schools in this par- 
ticular. The several classes are commonly organized, with 
class officers, and have occasional gatherings of a social 
character. The offices of the highest class in school are 
sought for with keen competition. Athletic associations, 
foot-ball and base-ball clubs, and the like, are usually main- 
tained. Match games are played with neighboring schools, 
which call forth unbounded enthusiasm. Several schools 
are often joined in an athletic league ; and the annual field 
days of these leagues are great occasions in the school year. 
The athletic records and trophies of a school are very highly 
prized. Well-equipped gymnasiums are now common in the 
larger schools, and provision for military drill is sometimes 
found ; but formal exercises do not take the place of free com- 
petitive games. Debating clubs and other literary societies 
are maintained with much interest. Contests in debate with 
neighboring schools call forth a spirit of emulation like that 
displayed in athletic struggles. Musical organizations are 
perhaps less common, but are among the most pleasing of 
school societies. Annual publications by successive classes 
present a record of the varied interests of the larger schools, 
and afford a field for budding literary and artistic genius to 
show its quality. Secret, Greek-letter societies are sometimes 
formed after the fashion of the colleges. Not unfrequently, 
too, voluntary associations for religious culture and observ- 
ance are maintained by the students. All of these organ- 
izations are commonly under the immediate control of the 
students themselves ; teachers frequently attend the various 
meetings, but more as friendly advisers than as governors. 

The completion of the course of study in a secondary school 
is celebrated in public with "graduation" exercises and the 
conferring of diplomas upon the members of the class. The 
graduates of a flourishing school will usually be found organ- 
ized in an alumni association. The monthly or annual meet- 
ings of such an association become of increasing significance 
as the years pass and its numbers and influence are enlarged. 



50 SECONDARY EDUCATION [19O 



TEACHERS 

A committee of the National educational association — 
the so-called committee of fifteen on elementary education 
— reported in 1895, among other topics, on the training of 
teachers for secondary schools. This committee declared 
that, " The degree of scholarship required for secondary 
teachers is by common consent fixed at a collegiate educa- 
tion." They proposed a course of special training for such 
teachers, consisting of instruction during the senior year of 
the college course in psychology, methodology, school sys- 
tems, and the history, philosophy, and art of education ; and a 
graduate year of practice in teaching, under close supervision, 
supplemented by advanced studies in educational theory. 

This proposal is far in advance of common practice or 
requirement. Very few of the American states make any 
specific requirement for the high school teacher's certifi- 
cate beyond that for a license to teach in the elementary 
schools. There are, on the other hand, many secondary 
schools in which teachers rarely obtain employment, if at 
all, unless they are college graduates ; and there are large 
sections of the country in which common usage is rapidly 
tending in this direction. 

The most of the leading universities and some of the 
higher normal schools are devoting especial attention to the 
professional training of teachers for schools of this grade. 
A committee of university professors, appointed for this 
purpose, has recently published a report, setting forth the 
existing legal provisions for the certification of high school 
teachers in the several states, and recommending practicable 
reforms. 

A Massachusetts report for the year 1897 shows that one 
per cent of the high school teachers then employed in that 
state were graduates of scientific schools, 13 per cent of 
normal schools, 66 per cent of colleges, and the remaining 
20 per cent unclassified. 

In the state of New York, in 1898, 32 per cent of the 



I91] SECONDARY EDUCATION 5 1 

teachers in secondary schools (not including principals) were 
college graduates, 39 per cent were normal school graduates, 
19 per cent were high school graduates, and 10 per cent had 
had other training. Of the principals, 51 per cent were col- 
lege graduates, 35 per cent normal school graduates, 8 per 
cent high school graduates, and 6 per cent had had other 
training. These figures include private academies as well 
as public high schools. They include also one-year, two- 
year, and three-year schools, as well as fully-developed high 
schools and academies. 

An inquiry into the preparation of teachers in the second- 
ary schools of California, in October, 1897, showed that of 
522 teachers then employed in the public high schools of the 
state, 308, or 59 per cent, were college graduates. 

These figures may be taken as representing the conditions 
which obtain in some of the more favored sections of the 
country. 

STATE SYSTEMS 

The several states have been slow to organize general sys- 
tems of secondary schools. In this respect secondary edu- 
cation stands in marked contrast with that of elementary 
grade. But a few of the states have made considerable 
progress in this particular. 

The early history of secondary schools in Massachusetts 
has already been told. This state is the foremost in the 
union in the universality of its provision for secondary 
education. Every " town " (township) in the state is required 
by law to provide free high school tuition for all students 
who are prepared for that grade of instruction. Inasmuch 
as the whole state is divided into towns, this means that free 
secondary education is offered to every child in the common- 
wealth. Of the 353 towns in the state, 185 are required by 
law to maintain high schools; 70 others maintain high 
schools, though not required to do so ; and those not main- 
taining such high schools are required to pay the tuition fees 
of qualified students within their limits who go elsewhere 
for high school instruction — and may pay for their trans- 



52 SECONDARY EDUCATION [192 

portation also. The poorer towns receive help from the 
state in paying for tuition in outside schools. The high 
schools must offer a four-year course, of forty weeks to the 
year. They must prepare pupils for the state normal schools, 
and for higher scientific schools and colleges. There are 
262 of these high schools in the state, employing 1,312 
teachers. In 1897 Massachusetts paid $12,390,638 for pub- 
lic schools, of which $2,400,000, or 19 per cent, was for high 
schools. In 1896, the total municipal tax in the state was 
$15.23 on $1,000. Of this, $4.72 was for public schools, 
$0.91 of which was for high schools. These figures include 
the cost of school buildings along with the current expense 
of schools. 

The organization of the university of the state of New 
York has been mentioned Only so much of the varied 
activity of this great institution calls for notice here, as has 
to do with secondary schools. This, however, presents the 
most thoroughly organized state system of secondary educa- 
tion which has yet been developed on American soil. All 
incorporated secondary schools in the state and all other 
secondary schools which may, after official inspection, be 
admitted to membership by the regents, are institutions of 
the university. One of the six departments into which the 
work of the regents is divided is the high school depart- 
ment, which has to do with high schools, academies, and all 
interests of secondary education. Both the college and the 
high school department are under one department director. 
He is assisted by nine inspectors of schools, one of whom is 
employed as an inspector of apparatus, and by a large staff 
of examiners. 

On the basis of reports made by this department, the 
regents distributed in 1898 a total of $209,250.48 in state 
funds to the secondary schools of the state. The method 
of distribution is as follows: (a) $100 is allotted to each 
school approved by the regents, without regard to its size or 
special attainments, (b) One cent is allowed for each day's 
attendance of each student in such schools ; provided that 



193] SECONDARY EDUCATION 53 

each student so counted must hold a "regents' preliminary 
certificate " for admission to the school, or the school must 
be approved by two university inspectors, as having a higher 
entrance requirement than the minimum prescribed for the 
preliminary certificate, (c) The state duplicates the amount 
raised by the schools for the purchase of approved books and 
apparatus up to the sum of $500 a year for any one school, 
(d) Grants are made on the basis of credentials obtained by 
pupils in the school who pass the regents' examinations — a 
method of "payment by results". In 1898, of the money 
distributed by the regents to secondary schools, about 25 per 
cent came under item (a) ; 22 per cent under item (b) ; 19 
per cent under item (c) ; and 34 per cent under item (d). 

The regents' examinations are held three times a year. 
They were taken in 1898 by 608 of the 645 secondary schools 
in the university. The diplomas issued by the regents to 
graduates of secondary schools are accepted by Cornell 
university and by other institutions of higher education 
in the state, in lieu of entrance examinations in the subjects 
which they cover. The report of the director of the high 
school department for 1898 says of the examinations: "In 
June 1898 the secretary stated to the regents that 10 years' 
experience had confirmed his views, given to the board in 
1889, that examinations have the highest educational value 
and that the small minority which would abolissh them are 
extremists. It is believed, however, that these tests would 
be more valuable if they were used for their educational 
value and not at all as a guide in distributing public money. 
Inspection will enable us in most cases to determine satisfac- 
torily without regents examinations whether a school is 
maintaining a standard deserving aid from state funds." 

A syllabus is issued by the regents for the guidance of 
instruction in university institutions. There is free consul- 
tation between the officers of the university and the instruc- 
tors in the schools with reference to the contents of this 
syllabus. An annual university convocation, in which the 
representatives of all divisions of the university meet for 



54 



SECONDARY EDUCATION [194 



public discussion, forms one of the notable educational gath- 
erings of the country. 

In Maryland, a law of the year 1865 swept away the old 
academy system, and substituted for it a system of county 
high schools. This radical change was followed by a reac- 
tion. Later legislation took a middle course. A law enacted 
in 1872 provided for the establishment of high schools in 
the several counties, to be under the control of the boards 
of county school commissioners, or of district boards 
appointed by them. Each of these high schools must be 
" visited and examined annually by the principal of the State 
normal school, or a professor thereof," and must also be vis- 
ited once in each term by the county examiner. The sup- 
port of these high schools is provided for by the county 
school commissioners, who set apart for that purpose a por- 
tion of the ordinary school funds received from the state 
and the county. At the same time, a number of academies, 
about twenty in all, continue to receive direct donations, 
in various fixed amounts, from the treasury of the state. 

We find in Indiana what is virtually a system of university 
accrediting of high schools, the administration of which has 
been turned over to the state board of education. In July, 
1873, the board of trustees of Indiana university adopted a 
resolution to the effect that a certificate " from certain high 
schools " should entitle the bearer to admission to the fresh- 
man class. In August of the same year, the state board of 
education adopted plans under which the high schools which 
were worthy of such recognition should be designated and 
commissioned. In 1888 the following order was passed: 
" That hereafter no high school commission be granted 
except on a favorable report in writing, to be made to the 
state board of education, by some member of the state 
board, who shall visit the high school in question as a com- 
mittee of the state board for that purpose. 

" That all the high schools now in commission be visited 
by committees of the board as soon as may be, and that the 
present list be modified by the reports from such visitation. 



I95] SECONDARY EDUCATION 55 

" That in case of change of superintendent in any com- 
missioned high school, the commission then existing shall 
be in force until a visitation shall be made by a committee 
of the state board." 

The territory of the state was divided up among the mem- 
bers of the board for the purposes of such visitation. 

By such simple means and without specific legal enact- 
ment, an important system of high schools has been built 
up. These schools rest upon a statutory provision authoriz- 
ing local school authorities to provide for the teaching, not 
only of the elementary branches, in English, but also of 
" such other branches of learning and other languages as 
the advancement of the pupils may require." They are 
supported in the same manner as the elementary schools. 

The supervisory power of the state board of education is 
secured by the broad provision that, " said board shall take 
cognizance of such questions as may arise in the practical 
administration of the school system not otherwise provided 
for, and duly consider, discuss, and determine the same." 

This board consists of the governor of the state, the state 
superintendent of public instruction, the respective presi- 
dents of the State university, Purdue university, and the 
State normal school, the school superintendents of the three 
largest cities in the state, ex officio, and "three citizens of 
prominence actively engaged in educational work in the 
state, appointed by the governor." A four-year course of 
study for high schools, prepared by this board, is recom- 
mended for adoption by all schools which seek to be placed 
on the " commissioned high schools " list. The board 
announces that commissions will be granted to those high 
schools only which meet the following requirements : 

1. The character of the work must be satisfactory. 

2. The high school course must be not less than thirty 
months in length, counting from the end of the eighth year. 

3. The whole time of at least two teachers must be given 
to the high school work. 

4. The course of study must be at least a fair equivalent 
of that recommended by the state board. 



L.cfC. 



56 SECONDARY EDUCATION [196 

It will be seen that this system provides for inspection of 
the schools only at long and irregular intervals. In practice, 
this defect is partially overcome by the close oversight which 
the universities exercise over those members of their fresh- 
man classes who enter on certificates from the schools. 
Such students are understood to be admitted to the uni- 
versity for a probationary period, in which they may show 
whether or not they have been properly prepared for the 
work they have undertaken. 

The interest in secondary education which has grown up 
under this system has extended to all sections of the state. 
There are now 151 high schools on the "commissioned" list, 
including those of the more populous centers. There is 
growing up, also, a large number of " township high schools " 
in the more sparsely settled portions of the state. In 1891, 
there were 125 such schools with an enrollment of 920 pupils. 
In 1898, the number had grown to 389, with an enrollment 
of 8,459 pupils. Seven of these schools have been placed 
on the "commissioned" list. 

The Wisconsin state system of free high schools was 
established in 1875. It provides for the maintenance of 
high schools by towns, incorporated villages, cities, or school 
districts or sub-districts containing incorporated villages or 
two-department graded schools within their limits. Two or 
more adjoining towns, or one or more towns and an incorpo- 
rated village, may unite in establishing and maintaining a 
high school. These schools are managed by local high 
school boards, which are commonly, but not always, identical 
with the boards for elementary schools. They are supported 
primarily by local taxation ; but a district is entitled to 
receive from the general fund of the state a sum not exceed- 
ing one-half the amount actually expended for instruction in 
the high school of such district, and not exceeding five 
hundred dollars in any one year ; provided the school has 
been kept in accordance with certain requirements prescribed 
by law, and provided further that the total amount paid from 
the state treasury for this purpose in any one year shall not 



19/] SECONDARY EDUCATION 57 

exceed fifty thousand dollars. Such a school is under the 
direct inspection and oversight of the state superintendent. 
To receive state aid, a school must establish and maintain a 
course of study prescribed, or at least approved, by that 
official ; and must be taught by teachers whose certificates 
he has approved. The state superintendent issues a manual 
for the guidance of these schools, containing general sug- 
gestions, courses of study, an outline of subjects and methods 
of instruction, and the text of the high school law. He is 
assisted in the visitation and supervision which the law 
prescribes by an inspector of free high schools, whom he 
appoints. 

An effort has been made in Wisconsin to encourage the 
building up of high schools in the less thickly settled por- 
tions of the state. This undertaking has met with only a 
moderate degree of success. Here as elsewhere it has been 
found difficult to promote the general establishment of such 
schools by other units of civil administration than those 
which establish and maintain elementary schools. In Wis- 
consin the elementary schools are governed and supported 
by district school authorities, and not by township boards. 

In the cities and towns of Wisconsin, the high schools are 
making marked progress, under the system of state super- 
vision. Within the past few years, many of them have been 
housed in fine, new buildings, provided with excellent labora- 
tories for instruction in the natural sciences. Important 
beginnings have been made also in the equipment of some 
of the schools for courses in manual training. State aid, to 
the amount of $250 a year for any one school, is extended 
to such courses by special provisions of the high school law. 
In the spring of 1899 six schools were receiving such special 
aid. At the same time there were in all 211 state-aided high 
schools in Wisconsin. Of these 56 had a three-year course 
and 155 a course four years in length. Of the four-year 
schools, no were accredited to the University of Wisconsin. 
The accrediting system was introduced by the university in 
1878, and is carried on independently of the state system of 



58 SECONDARY EDUCATION [198 

inspection. About a dozen of the largest and strongest high 
schools in the state are not included among those receiving 
state aid. 

The courses of study are commonly designated as the 
English, the general science, the modern classical, and the 
ancient classical course. A given school will ordinarily 
establish the English course first, and will from time to time 
add the others in the order named. There were in 1899 ten 
schools in the state which carried the full classical course. 

Minnesota has maintained a state system of high schools 
since 1881. At the head of this system stands the state high 
school board, consisting of the governor, the superintendent 
of public instruction, and the president of the University of 
Minnesota, ex officio. This board appoints a high school 
inspector and a graded school inspector. Any public high 
school in the state may become a state high school, and is 
then entitled to receive from the state the sum of eight hun- 
dred dollars annually. To be a state high school, it must 
admit students of either sex from any part of the state with- 
out charge for tuition, must provide a course of study cover- 
ing the requirements for admission to the University of 
Minnesota, and must be subject to the rules and open to the 
inspection of the state high school board. This board deter- 
mines, on the basis of the reports of its inspector, what 
schools are entitled to the bounty of the state ; but not 
more than five schools may receive such aid in any one 
county in any one year. Provision is also made for state 
graded schools, of lower rank than the state high schools ; 
and for the promotion of such schools to the rank of state 
high schools when they have attained such a degree of 
advancement as to entitle them to that designation. 

The state high school board conducts a written examina- 
tion of classes in the schools twice a year. Students who 
successfully pass such examinations, in any of the high 
school subjects, receive certificates for the subjects so 
covered ; and these certificates are accepted by the university 
and the normal schools of the state in lieu of entrance exam- 



199] SECONDARY EDUCATION 59 

inations in the subjects specified. The taking of this state 
examination is ordinarily optional with the school ; and no 
grants of money are based on examination results. The 
state board may, however, require a school to take an exam- 
ination as a part of the annual inspection. " The main pur- 
pose of state examinations ", as stated by the inspector of 
high schools in his report for 1898, "is not to test the stu- 
dents, but to promote the general efficiency of the schools." 

Perhaps the most significant thing about the Minnesota 
system is the encouragement it gives to high schools in the 
smaller towns. Communities all over the state tax them- 
selves freely to supplement the bounty distributed by the 
state board. 

Laboratory apparatus for the high schools is made at the 
state prison and sold to the schools at cost. For the year 
1898-99, there were 1 10 graded schools and 97 high schools, 
under the supervision of the state high school board. 

Several other states have made marked advance within the 
past few years in the direction of improved systems of sec- 
ondary schools. These improvements have been gained 
through the untiring efforts of devoted friends of education, 
and should receive notice in such a place as this. But lack 
of space forbids. There is reason to regret, along with this 
omission, the unavoidable passing over of influential move- 
ments and important institutions which are in every way 
deserving of mention along with those which have been 
noticed ; but the time has been wanting to consider fully the 
proportionate importance of these things, as well as the 
space for a full exposition of them all. 



6o 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



[200 



STATISTICS 



Through the courtesy of the United States commissioner 
of education, the following statistics for the whole country 
for the year 1897-98 are presented in advance of their pub- 
lication by the bureau of education : 



TABLE I 

STATISTICS OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR 1 897-98 





Public 
high schools 


Private 
high schools 


Public and 

private 
high schools 


Number of schools reporting. . . 

Teachers of secondary students. 

Male 


5 315 
17 941 

8 542 

9 399 
449 600 
189 187 
260 41 3 

51 066 
27 935 
13 575 
14360 

23 131 
12 056 
11 075 
53 022 
19247 
33 775 

14552 
6699 
7 853 


I99O 

9 357 
4075 

5 282 
105 225 

52 172 

53 053 

26693 
16 361 

11 128 

5233 
10332 

7429 
2903 

12 148 

6 302 
5846 

5 388 
3628 
1 760 


7 305 

27298 

I2617 

14 68l 

554 825 

241 359 
313466 

77 759 
44296 
24703 
19 593 
33 463 
19485 
13 978 
65 170 

25 549 
39621 

19940 

10327 

9613 


Female 


Secondary students 

Male 


Female 


Secondary students preparing 
for college 


Classical course 


Male 


Female 


Scientific courses 


Male 


Female 


Graduates in the class of 1898. . 
Male 


Female 


College preparatory students in 

the graduating class 

Male 

Female 





20l] 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



6l 



TABLE II 

STUDENTS IN CERTAIN COURSES AND STUDIES* IN PUBLIC HIGH 
SCHOOLS IN 1897-98 



COURSES, STUDIES, 
ETC. 



Students preparing for 
college : 

Classical course 

Scientific courses... 

Total preparing for 
college 



Graduating in 1898 

College preparatory 

students in graduat- 
ing class 1 

Students in 

Latin 

Greek 

French 

German 

Algebra 

Geometry 

Trigonometry 

Astronomy 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Physical geography . 

Geology 

Physiology 

Psychology 

Rhetoric 

English literature. . . 

History (other than 
United States) 

Civics 



Number 
students 



27 935 
23 131 



51 066 



53 022 



14 552 

223 307 
14 02I 
33 9 J 7 
59 577 

252 358 

121 813 
10 200 
17 170 
93038 
37 329 

112 133 
19 646 

134 785 
12 325 

161 724 

180 156 

169 478 
102 242 



Per cent 
to total 
number 
secondary 
students 



6.21 

5.15 



II.36 



11.79 



27-45 
49.67 

3-12 

7.54 

13-25 

56.13 

27.09 

2.27 

3.82 

20.69 

8.30 
24.94 

4.37 
29.98 

2.74 

35-97 
40.07 

37-7Q 
22.74 



Male 
students 



13 575 
12 056 



25 63I 



I9247 



6 699 

87529 

7656 

12 006 

23 336 

106 676 

49 787 

4 966 

6 351 
39 493 
16 450 
47 074 

7 725 
57 392 

4 355 
66 949 
74014 

69 636 
43 997 



Per cent 
to total 
number 

male 
students 



7.18 
6-37 



13-55 



10.17 



34.81 



36.81 
23.26 



Female 
students 



I4360 
II 075 



25 435 



33 775 



7 853 



46.27 


135 778 


4-05 


6365 


6.35 


21 911 


12.34 


36 241 


56.39 


145 682 


26.32 


72 026 


2.63 


5234 


3.36 


10 819 


20.88 


53 545 


8.70 


20 879 


24.88 


65059 


4.08 


11 921 


30.34 


77 393 


2.30 


7 97o 


35-39 


94 775 


39.12 


106 142 



99842 
58 245 



Per cent 
to total 

number 
female 

students 



5.52 
4.25 



9-77 
12.97 

23.25 

52.14 
2-44 
8.41 

13.92 

55-94 

27.66 
2.01 
4.15 

20.56 
8.02 

24.98 
4-58 

29.72 
3.06 

36.39 
40.76 

38.34 
22.37 



Per cent to number of graduates. 



62 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



[20: 



TABLE III 

STUDENTS IN CERTAIN COURSES AND STUDIES IN PRIVATE HIGH 
SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES IN 1 897-98 



COURSES, STUDIES, 
ETC. 



Students preparing for 
college: 

Classical course 

Scientific courses.... 

Total preparing for 
college 



Graduating in 1898.... 
College preparatory 

students in graduat- 
ing class 1 

Students in 

Latin 

Greek 

French 

German 

Algebra 

Geometry 

Trigonometry 

Astronomy 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Physical geography. 

Geology 

Physiology 

Psychology 

Rhetoric 

English literature... 

History 

Civics 



Number 
students 



16 361 
IO 332 



26 693 



12 148 



50 986 
IO973 

24 248 

19 417 

54 397 

25 702 

5 519 
7263 

20 612 
10 119 
22 849 

6 205 
28 205 

7 873 

34 124 

35 654 
39 556 
16 565 



Percent 
to total 
number 
:econdary 
students 



15-54 
9.82 



25.36 



H-54 



44-35 

48.45 
10.43 
23.04 
18.45 
5i-7o 
24-43 
5-25 
6.91 

19-59 
9.62 
21.79 
5-90 
26.80 
7.48 
32-43 
33-88 
37-59 
15-74 



Male 
students 



II 128 
7 429 



18 557 



6 302 



3628 

27 908 
8983 
8682 
9719 

29470 

14 791 
3 447 
2 188 

10 230 
4991 

10 555 
2 506 

12 561 
2 814 

15 164 
15 709 
18 346 

7 975 



Per cent 
to total 
number 

male 
students 



21-33 
14.23 



35-56 



I2.08 



57-57 

53-49 
17.21 
16.64 
18.63 
56.49 
28.35 

6.61 

4.19 
19.61 

9-57 
20.23 

4.80 
24.08 

5-39 
29.07 
30.11 
35-i6 
15.29 



Female 
students 



5 233 
2 903 



136 



5 846 



I 760 

23 078 

1 990 
15 566 

9 698 

24 927 

10 911 

2 072 

5 075 

10 382 
5 128 
12 294 

3 699 
15 644 

5 059 

18 960 

19 945 
21 210 

8 590 



Percent 
to total 

number 
female 

students 



9.86 

5-47 



15-33 



30.11 

43-50 

3-75 

29-34 

18.28 

46.99 

20.57 

3-9 1 

9-57 

19-57 

9.67 

23.17 

6.97 

29.49 

9-54 

35-74 

37-59 

39-98 

16.19 



1 Per cent to number of graduates. 



203] 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



63 



TABLE IV 1 

STUDENTS IN CERTAIN COURSES AND STUDIES IN PUBLIC AND PRI- 
VATE HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES IN 1 897-98 



COURSES, STUDIES, 
ETC. 


Number 
students 


Per cent 

to total 

number 

secondary 

students 


Male 
students 


Per cent 

to total 

number 

male 

students 


Female 
students 


Per cent 
to total 
number 
female 

students 


Students preparing for 
college: 

Classical course 

Scientific courses . . . 


44296 

33 463 

77 759 


7-99 
6.03 


24703 

19 485 


IO.24 

8.07 


19 593 

13 978 


6.25 
4.46 


Total preparing for 
college 


14.02 


44 188 


18.31 


33 571 


10.71 


Graduating in 1898. . . . 

College preparatory 

students in graduat- 


65 170 

19940 

274 293 
24994 
58165 
78 994 

306 755 

147 515 
15 719 
24 433 

113 650 
47448 

134 982 
25851 

162 990 
20 198 

195 848 

215 810 

209 034 
118 807 


H-75 

30.60 

49.44 

4- 50 

10.48 

14.24 

55.29 

26.59 

2.83 

4.40 

20.48 

8-55 

24-33 

4.66 

29.38 

3-64 

35-3Q 

38.90 

37-68 
21.41 


25 549 

10 327 

"5 437 
16 639 
20688 
33 055 

136 146 

64 578 

8413 

8 539 

49 723 

21441 

57629 

10 231 

69 953 

7 169 

82 113 

89723 

87 982 
51972 


IO.59 

40.42 

47-83 
6.89 
8-57 
13.70 
56.4I 
26.76 

3-49 

3-54 
20.60 

8.88 
23.88 

4.24 
28.98 

2-97 
34.02 
37-18 

36.45 
21.53 


39 621 

9613 

158 856 

8 355 

37 477 

45 939 

170 609 
82937 
7 306 
15 894 
63927 
26 007 
77 353 
15 620 
93 037 
13 029 

113 735 

126 087 

121 052 
66835 


12.64 

24.26 

50.68 


Students in 


Greek 


2.67 




II.96 
14.66 






54.43 




26.46 


Trigonometry ...... 


2.33 

5-07 
20.39 






8.30 


Physical geography.. 


24.68 
4.98 




29.68 




4.16 




36.28 


English literature. . . 

History (other than 

United States) 


40.22 

38.62 
21.32 







1 Result of combing tables II and III. 
3 Per cent to number of graduates. 



6 4 



SECONDARY EDUCATION 



[204 



TABLE V 

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF STUDENTS PURSUING CERTAIN STUDIES 
IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 189O TO 1 898, 
IN FOUR-YEAR PERIODS. 





1889-90 


1893-94 


1897-98 




Number 

of 
students 


Per cent 

to 

total 


Number 

of 
students 


Per cent 

to 

total 


Number 

of 
students 


Per cent 

to 

total 


Total number of sec- 
ondary students. . . 
Number studying 


297 894 

IOO 144 
12 869 
28 032 

34 208 
127 397 
59 789 

63 644 
28665 


33-62 
4-32 
9.4I 
II.48 
42.77 
20.07 

21.36 
9.62 


407 919 

177 898 
20 353 
42 072 
52 152 
215 023 
I03 054 
15 500 

97 974 

42 060 


43-59 
4-99 
10.31 
12.78 
52.71 
25.25 
3.80 
24.02 
10.31 


554 814 

274 293 
24 994 
58 165 
78 994 

306 755 

147 515 
15 719 

113 650 
47448 


49.44 

4.50 

IO.45 

14.24 

55.29 

26.59 

2.83 

20.48 

8-55 


Greek 


French 




Geometry 

Trigonometry 


Chemistry 



SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Washington, annual 



Reports of the commissioner of education. 

publication. 

These reports include a great deal of statistical information relating to sec- 
ondary education. Since 1871 they have presented statistics of private high 
schools, academies, etc.; since 1876, of city high schools; since 1886-87, oi 
students pursuing each of the more common secondary school studies; since 
1889-90, of public high schools not included in city school systems. 

Adams, Herbert B. (Editor). Contributions to American educa- 
tional history. Washington, 1887-. 

Published as circulars of information of the United States bureau of educa- 
tion. Nineteen monographs have already appeared in this series, the most 
of which contain matter relating to the history of secondary schools. 

Boone, Richard G. Education in the United States, its history 
from the earliest settlements. New York, D. Appleton and 
Company, 1893. 

Contains several chapters on the history of secondary education. 



205] SECONDARY EDUCATION 65 

Report of the committee on secondary school studies appointed 
at the meeting of the National educational association, July 
9, 1892, with the reports of the conferences arranged by this 
committee and held December 28-30, 1892. Washington, 1893. 

Better known as the report of the committee of ten. It has been repub- 
lished by the American Book Company (New York) for the National educa- 
tional association. 

Report of committee on college entrance requirements, July, 1899. 

Published by the National educational association, 1899. 

The American journal of education. [Barnard's] Vols. 1-3 1. 
Hartford, Conn., 1856-1881. 

These volumes contain a great amount of matter relating to the history of 
American secondary schools. 

The Academy, a journal of secondary education. Issued monthly 
under the auspices of the associated academic principals of the 
state of New York. Vols. 1-8. Syracuse and Boston, 1886-1892. 

School and college, devoted to secondary and higher education. 
One volume only, Boston, 1892. 

The school review, a journal of secondary education. Vols. 1- 
(current publication). Chicago, 1893-. 

The educational review. Vols. i-(current publication). New 
York, 1891-. 

To these should be added the annual reports of the sev- 
eral school systems mentioned in this monograph, the vol- 
umes of proceedings of the various associations of teachers 
to which reference has been made, and the annual catalogs 
and occasional anniversary publications of the more impor- 
tant schools. 



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LB D '04 



